The Western World, by W.H.G. Kingston.
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This rather long book is not a novel: it is a fun-level introduction to
the natural history of the Americas, seen from a late nineteenth century
perspective. Quadrupeds, birds, plants, trees, and the indigenous races
are covered, always in an interesting and readable style. There are
almost 200 engravings, many of them quite excellent, done by a variety
of high-quality artists. Unfortunately all this adds up to additional
size, such that the PDF of the book is close to 100 megabytes, when an
average novel is from 12 to 20 megabytes.
You could not use this book as a full guide to all the natural history
of the Americas, but instead it is intended to be read through in order
to gain an introductory view of it. The book is divided into five parts
of which the first, of nine chapters, covers North America; the second,
of three chapters, covers Central America; the third, fourth, and fifth,
amounting to twenty-five chapters, covers South America.
It is a well-written and absorbing book.
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THE WESTERN WORLD, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.