The first thing that struck me about The Shallow Seas of Wales by Paul Kay was the excellent photograph of a pipefish on the front cover. As I turned the pages, I soon discovered many more top-quality photos.
The book can best be described as a review of many shallow-water marine environments on the Welsh coastline, from Anglesey in the north to the Gower in the south.
For each location the typical habitats are described, together with some of the usual and more unusual marine life.
I enjoyed reading it, but couldn't quite work out at whom it was aimed. The photography and style is glossy enough for a coffee-table book, but coffee-table books are usually much larger hardbacks.
It is not a dive guide, there being no diving details in it. It could be a marine-life guide, but covers only a small and well-presented selection of marine life - and there is no index.
It would make a nice companion for a school project, though perhaps some of the text is a bit difficult for young children.
Having said all that, this is a delightful little book. The only changes I would make would be to include a map to show where the locations are, and an index. If I was browsing round a dive shop waiting for cylinders to be filled, this is the sort of book I would buy on impulse.
John Liddiard