With dramatic, tantalizing images, this book discloses the unique character of tropical rain forests. In the accompanying text, zoologist Mitchell ( A Fragile Paradise ) evokes the teeming atmosphere of the rain forest and its myriad life forms, describing adaptations of forest dwellers in reproduction, camouflage and movement (the Jesus Christ lizard walks on water). Portraying the rain forest as an exotic, complex and beautiful world now threatened with destruction, Mitchell also names organizations active in rain forest conservation. While text and the 200 color pictures are not interdependent, photographers and author nevertheless provide a wondrous tour from forest floor to canopy.