The primary contributor is Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International, and the cover art and illustrations are drawn by Stephen D. Nash.

[6] The purpose of the book is defined in its introduction: "to facilitate field identification of lemurs, to summarize available data on their ecology, distribution and conservation status, and to stimulate further interest in the survival of these animals in their natural habitats.

[13][14][d] In it, they emphasize Madagascar's primate diversity, summarize conservation efforts, and highlight recent discoveries, while also acknowledging the need for additional research.

[25][26][27] In the third edition, a new chapter was added, entitled "Madagascar's Ancient Geological History", written by Maarten de Wit from the University of Cape Town.

The best opportunities for viewing it are at the Analamazaotra Special Reserve and the Forêt de Vohidrazana near the village of Fanovana, approximately 12 km east of Andasibe, although its observation in these areas remains very unpredictable.The majority of the book provides accounts of all lemur species known up until the time of publication.

[32] In the second and third editions, all pages within each family section are assigned a colored tab to match those in a quick visual reference present inside the front and back covers.

The first edition has two appendices, respectively entitled "Lemurs Present in Protected Areas" and "Alternative Names for Towns and Sites in Madagascar".

[35] In a review of the first edition in the International Journal of Primatology, Lisa Gould spoke favorably of the book, comparing it to Tattersall's The Primates of Madagascar except more portable, affordable, and up-to-date.

The review noted CI's promotion of ecotourism while also providing a count of the book's illustrations: 35 color plates, 50 distribution maps, and 135 drawings of postures and behaviors.

[49][f] Writing in Lemur News, Alison Jolly praised the first edition for its "contribution to knowledge in general" and "its effect on its intended audience."

She noted the attraction of Nash's subfossil lemur reconstruction, claiming that it was "rapidly becoming one of the most pirated single book illustration on the primate lecture-slide circuit."

Finally, the "most significant and most appreciative" audience Jolly mentioned was the Malagasy researchers, to whom Mittermeier reportedly gave 50 copies of the book during a workshop in 1995.

[6] A review from Conservation Biology by Joelisoa Ratsirarson referred to the book as a "remarkable achievement" for its up-to-date information, and for being the first comprehensive lemur field guide.

Emphasizing many of the same highlights as Gould and Jolly, Ratsirarson also noted the inclusion of captive management information, unpublished details, and the use of common names in English, French, German, and Malagasy.

His critique focused on the organization of the illustrations in relation to the text, the lack of an index, and a desire for more information about the roles lemurs play in their ecosystem.

Though he praised it for being useful to tourists, researchers, students, resource managers, and conservationists, he expressed concern over its lack of availability in the bookstores of Madagascar.

Otherwise, the book was praised as being better than other field guides due to its inclusion of seemingly obscure yet important details, such as how to get to lemur watching sites, travel time, where to stay, mentions of lesser-known sites, listings of species to be seen, best times to observe, and the number of habituated lemur groups in each area.

Dunkel expressed that steep challenges facing lemur conservation efforts due to political and economic instability in Madagascar made the new edition especially important.

Researchers such as Tattersall and Anne D. Yoder, director of the Duke Lemur Center, have raised concerns about taxonomic inflation.