Book Description

Nothing is as colorful as a field of wildflowers in full-bloom so what could be more appropriate than a magnificent field guide with beautiful full-color photographs? More than 1,000 species are covered in full detail, with notes on more than 400 others. The 700 identification photographs show wildflowers-including grasses and sedges, and many flowering vines and shrubs-in their natural habitats.

Note: the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Recommended
These audubon field guide books are great. Beautifully bound and easy to use with great photographs and detailed descriptions of each species. Also, they are the perfect size for your shirt or pants pocket.

Great exercise
My husband bought this book in 1980 after his heart attack. He used it to go into the preserve across the street. He would get exercise as well as an education.

Excellent
I had to collect wildflowers during the summer for an Honors Biology class. The field guides we were given were ones with drawings instead of photographs. It was very hard to correctly identify the wildflower with only a drawing. This field guide is excellent. You identify the flowers with color photographs, and the book gives a fairly in-depth description on the flower, habitat, range, and other comments about the flower. I would recommend this guide to anyone who has to identify wildflowers for school, or just enjoys identifying for pleasure.

Excellent Guide, Easy to Use
I have another wildflower guide which I tried using and was very frustrated with their drawings and color plates. I bought this guide out of desperation---and am completely satisfied. Its simple and easy to use. The flowers are easier to identify with color photography, complete with close up caption. Descriptions are listed later. Not everything is jumbled together, so that your'e fumbling out there around through so many pages. So easy to use. The flowers are more generalized than specific---you won't find 50 examples of a violet--but you'll find several at best. It depends on how detailed you want to get. Quick, ready to use guide that fits perfectly in your husbands fishing vest or in a backpack. Go for it!

Best I've seen
Excellent guide -- good photographs organized by color and blossom shape, cross-referenced to detailed classification and habitat information. By far the easiest classification guide I've used (and I've tried many). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

perfect pocket knowledge!
You gotta have this little book of wildlife treasures on hand, because you will see most of these creatures if your visit is at least a week!

Another book I read before my visit was "Costa Rica: The Last Country The Gods Made," one of the most imaginative travel-writing efforts I have read lately. Like an anthropolgical text with far too many tangents, it gathers the best and brightest attractions in Costa Rica to explore in essays the various themes of the country. This means that the selections are as diverse and strange as the points-of-view they represent. Standouts include "House Made of Rain" about a day in the rainforest, "Why No Empire?" explaining why the Spanish Invasion apparently skipped Costa Rica, and "Women Under Tico Paternalism." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent Resource
This is one of the best books in the field that I have seen. It is a comprehensive classification of tumors in mice. Figures are excellent. The international authors are the leading authorities. It is well worth the price! ... Read more

Amazon.com

A favorite of birdwatchers (especially those who prefer photographs to illustrations), this field guide, revised for 2000, accounts for the 544 bird species that live in the region west of the Great Plains. The clearly printed color photographs capture birds at rest and in flight; preceded by black-and-white silhouettes, the plates are organized by visually based, intuitive categories--"hawk-like birds," "pigeon-like birds," and "perching birds," for example--that make on-the-fly identification a fairly simple matter. The images are matched by clearly written text that describes a given bird, gives an approximation of its voice, and details its habitat, range, nests, and behavior. Sized to fit in a jacket or backpack pocket, this is a valuable companion for any birding outing in the region. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Do not leave home without it!
We purchased our first Field Guide almost twenty years ago when my eldest son was in the fifth grade and during spring break his class had a contest to see which student could identify the most species. It just happened that week we packed our family in the car and drove from the deserts of Idaho, through eastern Oregon and the Mahuer National Bird Sanctuary to the Oregon coast. If my memory serves me right, we identified nearly a hundred species of birds. This started a twenty-year love affair with our Field Guide to North American Birds. We were hooked. So much so, after losing my book, I immediately purchased another one. To his day, my Field Guide and binoculars are by our dinning room window. Each spring and summer we try to identify new species to our area. Hey, birding a great hobby and it does not cost a lot of money.

An Excellent Field Guide for Birders
This is an excellent guide to identifying birds. The National Audubon Society is an excellent authority on all things nature, and therefore it is not surprising that the National Audubon Society would publish a helpful guide. The guide helps a birder identify birds by behavior, size, habitat, plumage, call, and location. There are color photographs of many birds to guide the birder. The plates are grouped by family which makes basic identification easy. The book also has a section that describes each bird as well as maps that show the likely locations where birds can be found. The color plates are enjoyable simply to look at, and can help a person prepare for possible sightings. The book is small enough that it can be carried to the field. The cover is also durable so it can withstand wear and tear. Since the boos are divided buy Eastern Region and Western Region, so the book is not very cumbersome.

Midway between the birding dilletantes and obsessives
The National Audubon Society has long been respected as, among other things, the publisher of a series of top-notch field guides to the natural world in North America. Their volumes include birds, trees, butterflies, insects and spiders, wildflowers, mammals, rocks and minerals, mushrooms, fish... you name it. Several of the books are specific to geographic regions. This review is of the National Audubon Society FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS - WESTERN EDITION.

This book is compact; it measures 4" x 7-1/2" x 1-1/2" thick, just the right size to fit into your pocket or day-pack if you're inclined to take it on a walk.

It's very thoughtfully and logically organized with four major sections, as follows:

INTRODUCTION
This includes a discussion of both the art and science of birding and the organization of the book. It includes a highly detailed rendering of a "typical" bird with all the anatomical points used in the book identified by their common names.

COLOR KEY
The avian kingdom is broken down into categories (long-legged waders, gull-like birds, owls, pigeon-like birds, hawks, tree-clinging birds, hummingbirds, perching birds, and so on.) Each category is assigned a silhouette. The categories are further broken down into families. So, in the category of hawks, we have ospreys, caracaras, vultures, hawks, falcons, harriers, kites, and eagles. Each family has its own silhouette symbol.

COLOR PLATES
This is a series of color photographs of 676 birds. The photographs are organized by the categories mentioned above. Most of the color plates show adult males, but some distinctive females and juveniles are also shown, along with seasonal changes in plumage. Each photograph identifies the bird by its common name, gives its overall length, and cites the page on which you can find more complete details about it.

Each color plate page has a thumb index with the silhouetted symbol for the birds on that page. The birds are arranged within their families by their predominant color, and the silhouettes are colored accordingly, to make it even easier to find your bird.

SPECIES ACCOUNTS
These are the write-ups cited in the color plates. Each citation gives the pages on which photographs may be found, the common and Latin names for the bird, and brief descriptions of the birds physical appearance. It also includes information on its voice, habitat, nesting habits and eggs, and range. There's even a tiny map of North America with its range shaded in gray.

At the end of this section is information about bird-watching, conservation, a glossary of terms used in the Guide, photographers' credits, and an index in both English and Latin.

What makes this Guide so easy to use is the way the color plates are organized, Without knowing anything at all about birds, I was able to identify a brightly colored bird that was hopping around my garden one day, and it took me less than one minute to do so. All I had to do is flip through the color plates, using the silhouettes, until I found the one of the right shape and color. My bird was on the second page of that section.

I also love the compact size and sturdy leatherette binding. This book will fit easily into a pack or pocket, and will stand up to damp weather.

If you're a life-list birding obsessive, this book might not be enough for you because it doesn't picture every color variation of every bird in every species and family. For that, you probably need Sibley. But for people like me, who enjoy backyard birding and want to know what we're looking at, it can't be beat.

Good book with a few issues
The pictures and how they are categorized are good. The only issue that I came across was that when given pictures of what some birds look like in Winter and Spring they weren't always next to each other. One would be on one page and then a few pages later there would be the other shot.
I would have liked to have seen shots of both male and female versions of the birds since in most cases they do look quite a bit different. And in some cases with this book there were those shots.
I liked the fact that it gave you what pages to go to to read about the birds. Instead of having to look up alphabetically.
The cover of the book is durable to withstand the turmoils of bird watching.
Overall the book is good for a newbie to bird watching.

Pocket-sized and Field Worthy
The saving grace of this bird book is its portable nature. It is small enough to fit in a back pocket when traversing over hill and dell tracking down that Northern Flicker. The cover is also of durable material to weather the dirt, grass, the weather, or whatever you put it through. Those are the good things.

The detractors are that when compared to other bird books, the format isn't the friendliest. To find all the scoop about a particular bird it is easy to locate the picture, however there is a separate section identifying habitat, range, behavior, etcetera. Then there is a numbering system separate from the page numbers that make all this cross-referencing and flipping back and forth between the pictures and the descriptions somewhat confusing. Another confusing thing about the picture sequencing is that two different views of the same bird aren't always placed together. For instance, on frame number 185 (not the page number mind you) we find the Pied-billed Grebe winter plumage and then a couple pages over oddly enough on frame 195 we find what the Pied-billed Grebe looks like the rest of the year. So now we want to know more about this feathered-floater, we are directed back to the back of the book...pg. 341 (we are back to going by page numbers) to find out that this little guy has earned the local name, "Hell Diver."

So for an easier to use guide to read from the comfort of your living room or from a car's passenger seat, I would point you to the Stokes Guide to Birds. Audubon's book does have some good info and unique details on particular birds that can't be found elsewhere, can be carried into the field with ease, and does include some pretty good pics. The two complement each other nicely, but if I had to choose one...it'd be the Stokes. ... Read more

Book Description

This edition provides a comprehensive overview and synthesis of current environmental issues and problems. ... Read more

Book Description

This updated and expanded edition offers current knowledge of nutrient metabolism and the formulation of diets from an array of available feedstuffs. Discusses animals' role in ecological balance, environmental stability and sustainable agriculture and food production. A new section on life-cycle feeding of individual animal classes features chapters contributed by authorities in their respective fields of animal nutrition. These new chapters include cattle, poultry, rabbits, sheep, swine, horses, cats, fish and exotic animals. ... Read more

Book Description

North America's eastern half, roughly from the Midwest to the Atlantic, was once a great deciduous forest. Although centuries of human intervention have cleared much of the land, the timeless forest remains in the spirit of the place. Today, even the shortest period of human neglect allows for the resurgence of the process of forest creation. The greatest gardens --- and happiest gardeners --- in this area will be those that take into account the nature of the land.

In his unique and often thought-provoking new book, award-winning author Rick Darke promotes and stunningly illustrates a garden aesthetic based on the strengths and opportunities of the woodland, including play of light, sound, and scent; seasonal drama; and the architectural interest of woody plants.

An alphabetical listing of woodland plants offers useful advice for every garden, emphasizing native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, sedges, and flowering perennials that fit the forest aesthetic. More than 700 stunning photographs, taken by the author, show both the natural palette of plants in the wild and the effects that can be achieved with them in garden settings.

The American Woodland Garden is a clarion call to a new awareness of our relationship to the natural world. This book will take its rightful place among the classic works that have influenced our concept of the American landscape. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

beautiful book
This book has a wealth of information and beautiful photographs for inspiration.

The Perfect Addition to Your Garden Library
I LOVE this book! I have a pretty extensive library of gardening books, but after relocating to the Northeast and starting landscaping projects here on our wooded lot, I felt I needed more references before going any further. Very few books I've looked at do an adequate job of dealing with shade and woodland gardening with the focus on planting native species. There are a great many very pretty books, with boring, dry or even worthless text, but this book utilizes very readable material and photographic compositions that are helpful AND beautiful. The use of photos of grouped plantings, as opposed to individual specimen photography made it far easier visualize possibilities in my own landscaping projects, and I especially liked his photos contrasting various garden views from one season to the next, emphasizing the idea that the beauty of our woodland landscapes aren't just about the obvious drama of spring or fall, but the unique structure and color of each phase of the year. I feel Mr. Darke did a fantastic job with both his text and photography, providing the ideal balance between beauty and practicality, creating a lovely, readable book that also serves as a great gardening reference.

This one's a keeper
The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. Rick Darke

This is one of the most powerful books about our natural world that I have read in a long time. When I picked it up I expected nothing more that a pleasant read and some attractive photographs. This book contains far more. The author manages to combine science-based knowledge of forest ecology with the eye of the artist and the insight of a philosopher. I haven't enjoyed a tree or garden book in years and I don't even live on that side of the continent.

More than half the population of the U.S. lives on land that used to be one vast deciduous forest. Only a patchwork of remnants remains. Rick Darke, author of "The American Woodland Garden" has attempted the difficult task of writing and photographing a portrait of this forest and offering a guide for those who consider creating a woodland garden both for beauty and for their conservation value.

The photographs alone make this book a worthwhile purchase, especially those of the photographic study of one stretch of Red Clay Creek in Pennsylvania. The author portrays, in photographs and notes, the natural patterns and processes of this tiny section of creek that he passed daily on his way to work. He writes "What began as a simple exercise in observation has proved to be one of the most essential elements in my education as a gardener." The resulting series of photographs is both simple and profound. Most of us know little stream beds like this; often we pass them routinely in our day-to-day commuting. We seldom pause to record the details - a flower is in bloom, a branch has fallen, the way one tree's foliage complements another. But for the author there were complex lessons to be learned, not least of which was the inevitability of change in the forest. Not only seasonal changes, but the effects of high winds, heavy rain and, of course, the hand of man.

Make sure to read the preface to understand the author's frame of reference (I often skip it, thinking 'same old, same old') but this one conveys you comfortably into the realm of the forest and into the author's world view. His first chapter "A Forest Aesthetic - The Eye of the Artist" shows you the colour cycles and architecture of the forest, while the second chapter is the aforementioned study of the woodland stream. The third and fourth chapters relate the spirit of the forest to the spirit of a woodland garden. The final, and longest, chapter details the plants of the woodland.

For the gardener or designer the lesson, beyond a deeper understanding of the woodland itself, is not to copy the forest but to reflect it, to make the most of colours, patterns and processes and to celebrate the spirit of the forest and bring it closer.

It would demean this book to call it a coffee table book, although the large format and superb illustrations would earn it a place on any coffee table. But by all means put it on your coffee table, because you will want it handy to pick up again and again as you keep returning to take this spiritual journey again and again with the author.

Wow!
This is a terrific book. First, it's a beautiful book to look at and peruse. Second, Rick Darke's message is powerful and is defining a modern view of gardening that is reminiscent of Emerson and Thoreau. Darke integrates gardening into the natural world, using natural forms and blending man-made landscape into the forest from which many of our homes were carved. If you have the chance to hear Rick Darke speak, don't miss it!

A Personal Look at the Northeastern Forest
Rick Darke has produced another gem. Darke's approach is unique; part Edwin Way Teale and part Gertrude Jeckyl, he looks at woodland beauty from many aspects; both for the love of it and in order to reproduce it in the garden. The book has four main sections, an appreciation of natural plant arrangements in the forest, a study of a small section of a woodland creek over many years, application of natural design principles in established gardens and a description of horticulturally useful forest plants. Each section is lavishly illustrated with beautiful and well-reproduced photographs.

In the first unit, the author looks at natural woodlands and natural gardens from the point of view of an artist and gardener. His goal is to define those natural combinations that are pleasing and translate them to culture. His discussion of color was particularly novel and helpful.

The second section follows the changes wrought by nature in a section of the Red Clay Creek in SE Pennsylvania. Not merely a catalog of events, this exercise in observation reveals how natural beauty evolves over time and through the seasons.

In the third section, a number of public and private gardens are used to illustrate the authors vision of the narural garden.

Finally, the last part of the book describes the main plants in the northeastern forest. It contains a wealth of cultural and aesthetic information.

Each section alone is worth the price of this handsome volume. This is a garden book to savor and to learn from. ... Read more

Book Description

An exhilarating meditation on nature and its seasons-a personal narrative highlighting one year's exploration on foot in the author's own neighborhood in Tinker Creek, Virginia. In the summer, Dillard stalks muskrats in the creek and contemplates wave mechanics; in the fall she watches a monarch butterfly migration and dreams of Arctic caribou. She tries to con a coot; she collects pond water and examines it under a microscope. She unties a snake skin, witnesses a flood, and plays -King of the Meadow' with a field of grasshoppers. ... Read more

Reviews (163)

Very Interesting and fun to read
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard is an exceptional book. It is like a modern day version of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. The deep thoughts and intricate details bring to life images that have not been experienced before. For example, when Dillard tells about the water bug sucking the frog, it brings to mind a very gruesome image that the reader just cannot get rid of. Yet, this image also sucks the reader in for more. Also, the exotocally intense descriptions make grotesque actions more beautiful, such as when the praying mantis lays its eggs. While writing about the praying mantis laying its eggs, Dillard seems almost frantic to get it all down. It is almost childlike, like a child who is to agitated by the sunlight and all of the beautiful things outside to stay inside and do their work. This technique makes the book more playful,fun, and attractive to young readers.

Dillard's paragraphs are woven together into tightly knit chapters by the nice transitions. The full circle effect ties up all of the loose ends at the end of each chapter and then again at the end of the book. The similes that are throughout the book make the book very poetic and intriguing. Dillard's obsessiveness with nature is intriguing because the reader does not know what she is goint say or do next.

Dillard's Actions bring the book to life. When she is describing running from tree to tree so that she would not be seen, the reader gets a sense of how full of life she is and how happy she is just doing simple things out in nature. Also, when she is less then four feet from the snake, she just sits there amazed by it like a child.

I never thought that I would read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, but as a part of a class I had to. Now that I have read it, I am glad that I did read it because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it to everybody.

Tinkerin Around
Upon receiving the assignment of posting a review for a piece of nature-related literature in my AP Language and Composition III class, my stomach did cartwheels while my brain collapsed in desperation. Had I not suffered enough? We had finally accomplished the miraculous feat of Thoreau's Walden: Or, Life in the Woods. The looming title, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, sent shudders down my spine. There was no way this high school junior could withstand anymore elaborate descriptions of creeks or lakes or ponds or wherever this Dillard woman chose. I dreaded the return from spring break when we would begin another punish....err, I mean assignment.

Surprise. Annie Dillard writes with the knowledge of Thoreau, but updates and modernizes his transcendental writing skill. At times, I had to do a double take and reread about the wolf slicing his tongue open and bleeding to death, or the poor frog sipped like a kid's slurpee on a sweltering July day. From the world of Eskimos to the mating of luna moths and sleeping with tons of fish in the bed, Dillard's book comes alive with Jeopardy-worthy trivia, up close and personal descriptions, and poetic completions. She employs telegraphic sentences throughout the work, adding spunk and playfulness as well as giving way to awesome transitions. Cramming allusions into every nook 'n cranny, she often questions "the Creator," but ends in praise.

Can I praise Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek? Although she tosses in a little more Latin and gross observations than I prefer to sink my teeth into, it is a well-written book deserving of your attention. Her spirit is contagious; now will you see the light in the trees?

She flies her sentences like a kite.
I enjoyed it immensely, even if its sentences are overwrought often to an annoying degree. I appreciate how she looks at the world in poetry: the world is a painting, and we are the poets charged with understanding it. The thing about Dillard is that in spite of the fact that her uber-emotive imagination stands in that place in her brain where my philosopher/mathematician stands in mine, she can still ask brilliant--even terrible--questions without all of the normal dillusions about what the alternative answers really are.

There are downsides: the overdone sentences, the fact that not every chapter drove forward toward the point--or even manifested her goal. But one reads her and agrees, at the end of it, that yes, she earned that Pulitzer after all.

And to all of the "bright AP English" students out there, for goodness sake put the book down and leave the book reviews alone. It just isn't for you. Pick it up again once you've lived some more of life.

An Interesting Read from an Interesting Author
Overall, a very interesting read. The adjective "interesting" can be taken in more than one sense, however. For example,
A. The subject matter found within is unique and intriguing, revealing tidbits about nature one would not discover in a normal lifetime.
B. Writing styles and techniques change throughout the book. At times Dillard is darkly pessimistic, while turning around a few sentences later to include some light wit. There is a lot of imaginative figurative language found that augments the writing a good deal.
C. The author herself is an ... amusing person. I never would have thought one person could be so thoroughly interested in nature, at least if I had not read Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, before.
And since the topic of Walden comes up, a comparison of the two would be appropriate. Dillard is much more appropriate for a modern audience. Both contain many insightful thoughts about nature and its relation to life, but you have to sift through a good deal of gunk to get to those points in Walden.
So, I would recommend this book, along with Walden, to anyone willing to take it seriously and probably get grossed out a few times. The time and mental strain will be worth it in the end.

Conent or Creation
As a part of our AP Language and Composition Class, I was given the task of reading two books I ordinarly would have never even pulled off the shelf, much less read cover to cover. The two books were Walden by Henry David Thoreau and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. I must say I was dredding reading them both, but now, five hundred and some odd pages later, I must say I am glad I was made to experience them.
The books themselves are compared most often, many say the message is the same and both Dillard and Thoreau were on the same journey; I however found they were entirely different and unique in their own ways.
Dillard uses all forms of rhetorical techniques to appeal to all of the reader's senses. The use of similes (on almost every page I might add) shows both a crisp sense of detail and a beautiful poetic style. The many allusions to books, including the Bible, shows Dillard is well read and knowledgeable about the many interesting subjects she discusses within each chapter. Her keen sense of detail, both beautiful and disgusting at times, allows the reader to truly connect with nature and begin to see life from her perspective. The description of the people with newly restored sight has lead me to look at my own life in a new patch of color.
Dillard has also clearly mastered the full circle effect and the use of telegraphic sentences and transitions at the percise time. Her use of ancedotes and scientific facts show her book is definitely a well construction piece of art.
The most enjoyable part about the book is not for me was not the content, but the way in which Dillard arranged the chapters and paragraphs so carefully that the book flowed like a river from beginning to end.
If nature and nonfiction is you thing then I would definitely recommend the book. As for Walden, good luck. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good but outdated
Though the Green Bible has been the best in the southeastern US for the past 30 years, and is still the best published manual for the Carolinas, it's in dire need of updating. Taxonomy for many of the species has changed, many more species have been discovered in the Carolinas since it was written (some native, some exotic), and the dot maps reflect what was know about species 30-40 years ago and don't necessarily reflect what is known about current ranges (also, the county dots aren't always backed up by occurrence records deposited in herbaria and thus are difficult to confirm)... overall, a wonderful publication, but one in need of a modern overhaul.

Best in the East
I have used this book for almost 30 years, and there is none better for the Southeast. Even if you use other guides, this one is the final authority! I cross reference everything through this book.

The best book for flora of the southeast in existence
I have gone through 4 of these in the past 26 years and I heartily recommend it for anyone with a more than passable amount of knowledge concerning plants.

One of the best floras of any region
Provides complete coverage of all vascular plants of North and South Carolina. Features excellent keys, drawings, and range maps.

Fantastic keys to vascular flora of the southeastern US
Fantastic..I heard this book was no longer available. I have used it for years--there is no substitute. Buy it while you can, as it is no longer published and this is the first time I have seen it for sale in over 10 years. ... Read more

Book Description

825 classic marine life photographs of 600 common and rare reef fish species. The easy-to-use, quick reference format makes it a snap to identify the myriad of fishes in Florida, Caribbean and Bahamas waters. A must for every serious diver. 6 inch x 9 inch, cloth stitched flexibinding that allows the book to lie flat. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

The Best Fish Identification Guide Available!
When I first received this book as a christmas gift from my mother,I was shocked. It was spiral bound,but twice the size of a norma fish identification guide. At 424 pages & 670 photos,it is rather spectacular. Although I have only seen it in pictures,the west atlantic is my favourite underwater landscape,and therefore,it was a great honour to own this book.
The book begins with an introduction to fishes in the caribbean and the ecology of the reefs. A massive ID book is needed to identify fishes on the world`s second largest reef area.
Different from most other fish ID books,it is a rather special one that is dividing the fish into groups based on look rather than relationship. I`ll go through these groups one by one in this review.
ID group 1 is Disks/Oval,featuring some of my favourite fish,making a perfect beginning of the book.
Butterflyfish,angelfish,and surgeonfish can be found here.
Every description includes a short description of colors and gender differences,if any,distribution,family,size,depht and reaction to divers,and natural habitat.
The photographs are accompanied by b/w drawings of the silhouettes.
The second one is a rather large chapter,covering the silvery,stream-lined ocean hunters like barracudas,porgies,mojarras,dolphins,mullets,and the large predator cobia. Not very colorfull,but still majestic.
The 3rd chapter includes Sloping Head/Tapered body,with snappers and grunts as the main families.The grunts can be rather varied.
The 4th one includes Small Ovals,where the damselfish and chromis can be found. There are no anemonefish in the caribbean,but these are closely related to those. Also included here are the hamlets,which are all subspecies of one species.
These are very colorfull and cute little critters. The next chapter is Heavy Body/Large Lips,including the largest bony fishes here - groupers,of which the jewfish can weigh 900 pounds!
These are clumsy,but still charmy fishes. Except 30 species of those,the little fairy basslet,the most beautifull fish of the caribbean,is included here too,yellow and purple.
Swim with Pectoral Fins,which is ID group 6,includes the varied family of parrotfishes and wrasses,which are very colourfull. The Hogfish can also be found here,the character of the caribbean. ID group 7 introduces Reddish/Big Eyes,with the big-eyed squirrelfishes and the small,but beautifull cardinalfish.
ID group 8 treats the Small,Elongated Bottom-Dwellers,whose beauty is often underestimated,especially the cute gobies. The sailfin blenny is one of my favourites. Here,we can also find the yellowhead jawfish,which is a famous fish here too. Odd-Shaped Bottom Dwellers includes the toadfish and the funny-looking flounders & batfishes,who walks on their fins!I am very fascinated by the looks of the strange frogfishes. Odd-Shaped Swimmers (chapter 10) includes the pufferfish,which can fill themselves with air,and the funny-looking trumpetfish. Also found here are the boxfishes,who are covered with armor,except for their fins,eyes and mouth. They can have very beautifull colors. The triggerfish can be found too. They are colorfull,although agressive inhabitants of the coral reefs. So are their close relatives,the filefishes.
And finally,the cutest fish in the Caribbean,can also be found here. It is the little yellow porcupinefish,less than an inch in size. The famous jack-knife is also found in this chapter. It looks like a cross between a scalare and a chromis!
It is believed to be the juvenile form of the web burrfish.
The 11th chapter is the Eel Deal of the book. Here comes the snake eels,beautifull but mysterious bottom dwellers. And last,but not least,the venomous moray eels also lurks in this chapter. The 8-foot green moray is the most famous,while the most scary one is the viper moray with huge teeth!I love moray eels,so this is a paradise for me!
The final chapter "Sharks & Rays" deals with the ultimate UW predators. But not all sharks a fierce. In fact,the whale shark is one of the friendliest fishes in the world,reaching a size of 60 feet and harmless to everything but plancton!The nurse shark is also a character of the Caribbean. Other ones included here are the manta ray,lemon shark,mako shark (the fastest fish in the world)and the dangerous tiger & bull sharks.
This is a chapter I would have liked to expand a bit,but as many sharks are not reef dwellers,I understand why they did not included the great white and/or the Megamouth.
Over all,now I have gone through all chapters fastly,but you have to see this book to really enjoy it. When I go to the Caribbean or Florida,I will bring this book and see how many fish I can identify.
So go get it!

So Much Fun
I recently aquired my scuba certifications in Belize, but needless to say, did not know much about the fish I was encountering during my first several dives. I bought a the Reef Fish Identification CD at the recommendation of my dive shops owner. This CD is great! I have completely enjoyed how interactive it is. I have been using the flash cards to help me and now I am starting to feel confident that I will be able to identify many more fish on my next dive. I will be taking this everywhere with me. I also recently purchased the Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific in book form and will be taking that with me to Hawaii for my next dive vacation. Buy it, it's worth it.

Very necessary compact disc!
The CD of Reef Fish Identification is one of the most entertaining and reliable guides available. The CD is very fun to play, and will occupy a user for hours at a time. There are several categories of fish covered, including: Pufferfish, Angelfish, flatfish, and many others. The paperbook book edition is just as excellent and beautiful as the disc, with the CD being less bulky and easier to carry along with you. The disc offers more, however, including ocean clips, trivia, and sea fish finder. The animals shown in the field guide section are excilaratingly beautiful. Ultimate 1000+ page field guide on a disc! The book editions, which have been updated exactly three times over the years, are not worth the continuous expense, as the disc is the latest edition available.

Fish ID Essential
Great book for anyone interested in knowing what you're looking at while diving. Easy to understand and has information on different stages (male/female/juvenile)in a fish life. Beautiful pictures. Great variety of fish. The authors have also listed the fish reaction to divers, so it makes life a little easier if you like photography. Also listed is how rare or common the animal is, what geographical area it is found in and its habitat. I go back to this book everytime I dive. I love it and would easily reccomend it to anyone who is interested in learning more on fish.

The Perfect Dive Buddy
I bought this book seven years ago, when I began scuba diving, and it has accompanied me on every dive trip. I remain impressed by how comprehensive and user-friendly it is. It may be the best equipment investment I've ever made! ... Read more

Book Description

Approx. 4 hours, 3 cassettes

When Nate Twitchell discovers that one of his family's hens has laid the
biggest egg he has ever seen, he is determined to see it hatch.And when it
does, neither he nor his parents, the townspeople, the scientists, or the
politicians from Washington are prepared for what comes out!





... Read more

Reviews (20)

Good book for dinosaur lovers!
My favorite part of this book is when the dinosaur hatches. Dr. Zeimer is so excited that he shows up in his bathrobe! No one knows what it is. Another scientist comes to figure it out. But the dinosaur is gone; then it pops out of a flower bed! The scientist was first impatient, then amazed. This book is very funny & exciting & makes you want to read on. Everyone would enjoy it, but especially people who are interested in dinosaurs. Douglas A., age 9

What a cool story!
This book was a good book because it holds your interest. It didn't have any boring parts. It didn't have any parts that went on too long, instead on every page there was something new to think about. I really liked it!

Nate Twitchel found an enormous egg under one of his hens one morning. It was so big Nate had to turn the egg for the hen.It took six weeks till it finally hatched.A dinosaur came out. News spread fast and soon people from across the country started coming to the Twitchel's house. The dinosaur got so big that the Twitchels had to send him away, but Nate got to go too. the dinosaur ended up in Washington D.C. and there trouble began. Read the book to find out how Nate solves his prolems.

Great Story in the Style of Henry Reed (But Better)
I read this when I was ten and again when I was thirty. And you know, I enjoyed it just as much the second time. The story's great and the writing's very good. Like "Henry Reed" and "Homer Price," but better. I wish Oliver Butterworth lived next door - he would've been a really fun and wise man to know.

Not Really a Dinosaur Book
Although on the surface this book is about a boy and his dinosaur, it is really about the freedoms promised to Americans by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Through Nate's story we learn about the power of free speach, and the importance of each voice in our political system. It is also a celebration of non-traditional learning experiences, and the joy of persuing education outside of school. The Enormous Egg is a great civics lesson and should be of particular interest to home schoolers.

A splendid book
I loved this book because it was a funny aventure. I thought the dinosaur, Uncle Beasley, was awesome. My favorite part was when he turmed over a truck on the highway. I thought it was funny! Nate was a cool guy because he rode the dinosaur and saved him from dying. Everybody would enjoy this book! ... Read more

Book Description

Written and illustrated by the creators of the popular Dino Life Guides for Families, this book uses precise language and humorous illustrations to offer specific ways to be a friend and specific ways not to be one.A special section on how to deal with bosses and bullies has valuable information for young children going forth in the world and encountering these situations for the first time. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent book for Beginer Friends
My two boys love this book. Its a childs simplistic version of "How to be a Friend" and it is great. Right on their level and easy for them to relate to. The Arthur type characters are appealing to children and they make the book their choice for the evening and want me to read it again and again :) I have the hardback, it was a great find.

Great guide for all kids.
This book is an excellent tool for parents and teachers to use with kids in the often times daunting world of social relatedness. Even kids who are very social would enjoy the way these gentle reminders are presented. Highly recommended for the special needs arena of Aspberger's and High Functioning Autism. Our autistic son loved and responded well to the almost "social story" approach. This truly spelled out a lot of social do's and don't's for him. His typical sister loved it as well. As a parent I highly recommend this book be in every kindergarden and first grade and second grade classroom. I bought several copies. ... Read more

Book Description

Streams is a handbook that combines a discussion of the ecology of streams and rivers, in layperson language, with an illustrated field guide of the plants and animals found in running waters of North America. Various illustrations and maps accompany the text. The authors are extremely well known--Cushing is the lead content provider for an America On-Line service provided through Trout Unlimited entitled "Ask Dr. Cushing." He is frequently asked the sorts of questions that are answered in this field guide. J. David Allan is the author of a well known textbook in Aquatic Ecology. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A superbly presented field guide
Collaborative written by ecologists Colbert E. Cushing (Colorado State University) and J. David Allen (University of Michigan), Streams: Their Ecology And Life is a superbly presented field guide packed with beautiful color photography, sketches, charts, graphs, and an authoritative text introducing readers of all backgrounds to the diverse, rich and fascinating splendor of streams and the chains of natural life that form around them. From the different types of rivers to the variety of different creatures that inhabit them and the surrounding area - birds, fish, crustaceans, amphibians, insects and more - Streams: Their Ecology And Life is packed cover to cover with an incredible amount of solid information and highly recommended for personal, school, and community library environmental studies and reference collections. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A Dog Trainer's Point of View
This book has helped hundreds of my clients understand the psychology behind the child-dog relationship and it has helped them avoid many of the common mistakes people make when dogs and kids mix. Brian and Sarah don't get into a lot of specifics on how to correct established problems, which is actually a good thing. It would take volumes of books to address exactly how each individual breed, temperament and problem should be handled. That perspective is best left to a reputable, thorough and non-violent trainer. Brian and Sarah give you good specific information on how to keep common problems from developing and some great general rules that apply to every breed of dog. None of their instruction is damaging to the child-dog relationship, which is saying a lot compared to many other authors of dog training books. Overall, this book is light, entertaining, non-clinical, and informative. I recommend it to any dog owner that has regular contact with children.

Childproofing your dog
'Good Owners Great Dogs' was one of the best dog training books I have read. When I saw 'Childproofing your Dog' I knew it would be just as good. It is a simple, easy to understand book. Basic common sense as far as children & dogs are concerned. I haven't found any other books available that cover this topic. We are expecting our first child in October and from what the authors have written we seem to be on the right track so far with our dog. A must-read, not only for people with dogs who haven't had children yet, but for people who don't own dogs.

Excellent Baby Shower Gift!!!
"Childproofing Your Dog" and GreatPets.com are 2 resources I routinely tell my dog training clients about when they have children or are expecting to have children. This clear, easy, and informative book covers many of the issues people think about when they are considering having a dog and children around each other, and raises some issues many haven't even thought of yet. "Childproofing Your Dog" is worth far more than the sticker price.

childproofing your dog
A very concise book on the topic. I found this book to be intelligent, useful and sensible. It may lean a little more towards the owner who has experience obedience training a dog, but I found it helpful since I do have experience obedience training & prefer not to get extraneous training advice. I highly recommend the book.

Helpful for anybody responsible for a dog OR a child.
A quick, interesting read, full of pertinent information & tips for anybody whose dog might ever come into contact with a child, AND for anybody whose child might ever come into contact with a dog (see the "Dogproofing Your Child" chapter.) ... Read more

Amazon.com

"One of the real tests of writers," notes Ackerman in this liveliest of nature books, "is how well they write about smells. If they can't describe the scent of sanctity in a church, can you trust them to describe the suburbs of the heart?" Ackerman passes the test, writing with ease and fluency about the five senses. Did you know that bat guano smells like stale Wheat Thins? That Bach's music can quell anger around the world? That the leaves that shimmer so beautifully in fall have "no adaptive purpose"? Ackerman does, and she guides us through questions of sensation with an eye for the amusingly arcane reference and just the right phrase. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Poetry and Science
When I first read Diane Ackerman's book it opened my eyes, just as these other reviews testify. It does seem to be a book people either love or hate (I have some friends who thought it was sentimental babbling) but that doesn't change how extravagantly Ackerman uses language itself to convey the lush world of the senses. I teach a creative writing course at SFSU and I use the book to promote both that poetic description and the possibilities for experience and awareness the book evokes. An excellent example of the ways poetry can be used to explain science and experience.

A cultural, creative, and sensory delight
After reading a few of Ackerman's New Yorker pieces, as well as The Moon by Whale Light and her contribution to Sisters of the Earth, I knew I would eventually read all of her books. A Natural History of the Senses does not disappoint. It flows like cool water through literature, history, music, politics, philosophy, and poetry. As a writer, I appreciate this book as a resource of my own, a way to deepen my understanding of our sensory appreciation of the world - but also as an example of beautiful writing by a master of the craft.
In a nutshell, I wish Diane Ackerman lived next door to me.

This book changed my life...
I read "A Natural History of the Senses" about ten years ago just a few months out of art school. I thought that I was fully engaged in the world and was aware of all that was around me. I soon learned that I was mistaken. I had been moving through the world virtually half-asleeep, just pushing my way through crowds and not really paying attention. I began opening myself fully to all experiences (through my senses) and I started to feel alive in a new way. I began a slow but steady transformation that has meant everything to me. Touch moved me most and eventually I went back to school and became a Massage Therapist. I am able, not only to experience my world in a new way; but I am also able to share something as comforting as massage with someone else. That is truly amazing!!

Diane Ackerman's style is enlightening and poetic. A Natural History of the Senses is one of those books that you share with good friends and read over and over again. I still have my very first paperback copy (now autographed and a bit tattered) and it inspires me to be aware every day!

Delightful prose and broad brush strokes of wonder!
DA has a wonderful writing style that makes reading her book a sensory pleasure in its own. At the risk of sounding sexist, it must be mentioned that the power of this book lies in the wonderfully delicate and detailed descriptions of the various senses and their experiences. While DA has chosen a subject that is reasonably biological, it is her descriptive flair for the minutiae, her almost artistic way of writing and her sense of joy and wonder which she conveys; all make this book a wonderfully engrossing tale about our sense organs.

While DA succeeds at opening our eyes (and ears, nose.... etc) to the world around us, perhaps the only shortcoming of the book lies in creating expectations in the reader of a rigorous treatment in the biological/evolutionary development of the sense organs. The reader seeking such a detailed analysis of the senses and their development would be served better by looking elsewhere. However, this book is a tasty little morsel and food for thought.

Definitely worth a read.

Adventures in sensuality.
Diane Ackerman not only explains why the fall leaves are changing colors outside my window (p. 257), but why the prairie dogs also living here are color-blind to the change of seasons (p. 265). In her fascinating study of the human senses, Ackerman, a poet and naturalist, demonstrates her talent for blending art, history, anthropology, psychology, literature, and natural science to define one of life's biggest questions: what it means to be human and fully alive. In understanding "the gorgeous fever that is consciousness," she explores the origin and evolution of the five senses, how they vary culturally, their limits and taboos, their folklore and science, and "what they can teach us about the ravishing world we have the privilege to inhabit" (p. xix). Along the way, obviously in love with the mysteries of life, Ackerman explains such things as why eating chocolate reproduces the sense of well-being we feel when we're in love (p. 154), why eating $500-a-pound truffles "make one's loins smolder like those of randy lions" (p. 161), why we close our eyes when we kiss (p. 230), and why we spend forty-nine million dollars on a van Gogh painting (p. 268). Reading A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SENSES brought me to the edge of my senses. This book is among the best books I've ever read.

G. Merritt ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A Must Have!
I just returned from a 10 day safari in Tanzania. The Safari Companion was informative and enlightening. Our tour guide asked me for my copy when the safarai was over! It seems the book is in such high demand in Africa, it commands nearly double the cover price. I gave her my copy. Because I enjoyed reading it so much on the trip and hope to use it to explain the 500+ pictures I took while there, I ordered another one when I came home!

Great for Amateurs
Most African Mammal guides are designed for people working in that field. Here, we have one specifically designed for the average enthusiast who wants to know a bit more than provided in the also essential Audobon Guide to African Wildlife. Let's face it - while you may get the occasional bird or even reptile enthusiast, it's the mammals that capture the imagination of the average person on the street when it comes to the wildlife of Africa.

You don't have to travel to the Dark Continent to enjoy this one, and - in acknowledgement that people can be interested in wildlife without necessarily being able or willing to go on Safari - it's also designed for use if you're fortunate enough (as I am) to be a regular at a quality zoo or even a regular viewer of "National Geographic" or "Nature".

The book is very easy to use and browse through, explaining habits and noting the best parks and reserves for each animal, as well as the animal's major predators or relationship with other predators. You don't have to look through it long to wish for similar volumes for Asia and North America.

Certainly worthy of being one of the first books on the shelf of anyone who loves African wildlife.

The perfect safari companion
Just returned from a safari to Tanzania. This book, along with the Audubon Field Guide to African Wildlife, made our experience that much better. The information contained in this book embellishes the wildlife viewing experience, by providing fascinating and in-depth information about the animals seen there. The text is organized very well and crammed full with useful information. Highly recommended reading for before a safari, and especially while there.

My most-thumbed book in Botswana
This is the book my tracker had in his jeep on a trip I took to southern Africa (SA, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia). My tracker didn't need it, but I found it fantastic reading during siestas and the longer drives. There are so many behavioural explanations missing from the standard safari guide. What's the difference between a high-horn threat and a low-horn threat in a roan antelope? I could see the different display postures, and this book told me a little more precisely what the display was all about. The only problem with this book is that there is no guide to spoor, so you'll have to get one. There are no colour photos, which is good for identification, because you don't want to get hung up on slight colour variations. Sometimes a roan antelope is about the same colour as a sable antelope. Look at the other identification marks. Anyway, as soon as I found a bookshop, I bought my own copy, and I still refer back to it.

Excellent but illustrated
While I agree with most of the other reviewers comments,I wouldn't agree that it is the only book you need. Descriptions and explanations are exemplary but the book is black/white illustrations with no color and no photographs. ... Read more

Book Description

A spellbinding history of the one bird every serious birder hopes to find, even as the world doubts its existence.

In Search of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is both a complete natural history of one of the most exciting and rare—perhaps even extinct—birds in the world, and a fascinating personal quest by the world's leading expert on the species. Jerome A. Jackson provides detailed insights into the bird's lifestyle, habitat, and cultural significance, examining its iconic status from the late 1800s to the present in advertising, conservation, and lore. As he relates searches for the bird by John James Audubon, Alexander Wilson, and others, Jackson offers anecdotal tales illuminating the methods of early naturalists, including how Wilson's captive ivory-bill destroys his hotel room in a desperate attempt to escape.Jackson's search for perhaps the last remaining ivory-bill takes him across the United States and into Cuba. He spends hours flying over potential ivory-bill habitat, canoeing through isolated waterways, and trudging through swamps, always playing recorded ivory-bill calls into the wilderness, hoping for a response. 30 halftones. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Much has changed in the role and use of ornamental grasses over the past 100 years. Whereas turn-of-the-century gardeners had perhaps a dozen perennial grasses to choose from, today's gardeners have hundreds. Ornamental grasses now embody a huge array of textures, forms, sizes, colors, flowering times, and cultural adaptations. The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses is intended for gardeners in a wide range of situations and climates, and draws from the experience and creativity of great gardens and gardeners around the world. It begins with an exploration of the unique aesthetics and appeal of ornamental grasses before moving on to a review of the families of grasses and a survey of grasses in their native habitats. Gardeners usually speak of "ornamental grasses" in the broad sense, including not only the true grasses but also related families of grass-like plants. Following this tradition, the book provides a detailed treatment of perennial grasses, rushes, and cattails, as well as selected bamboos. Written by horticulturist Rick Darke, this encyclopedia will be invaluable to nursery professionals, landscapers, and home gardeners. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Absolutely Fantastic
This is such a wonderful informational book... AND ... a gorgeous coffee table book. It is terrific from beginning to end! If you like or are interested in, or even thinking about Ornamental Grasses ... then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! I can't imagine anyone who has an interest in Ornamental Grasses NOT LOVING THIS BOOK, and would be delighted they purchased it. My only concern is that it is going to look dog-earred from my reading it over and over and over again ... which frankly takes away from its beauty on our coffee table.

Buy 2 copies...
This book is structured, written, photographed and edited with parallel purpose and effect: communication of the author's respect and regard for the book's subject and for its readers. Mr. Darke sets out to inform and does so with enconomy but in full course; when he instructs, he teaches the novice and gives pause to the critic; when he photographs he shows his passion and inspires with the nature and wonder of his subjects. The book is encyclopedic, yet its prose is always to the point with the agreeable dryness of a good, well-bodied wine. Credible, trustworthy, enlightening. This is the best gardening book I have ever read. Negatives? Only one: Mr. Darke's standards are unimpeachable; those of the book's typographer and designer, however, are not.

Excellent information, awesome photographs
Excellent and complete information about ornamental grasses. A great book.

Thirty pages on the botany, anatomy, and classification of grasses. Twenty pages on native habitat, thirty pages on designing with grasses, and twenty pages of growing and propagating grasses. 170 page encyclopedia listing 400+ species / varieties of grasses. Each species is described in a paragraph or two of text along side a clear photograph of the plant. In the back of the book, you find a 2 page glossary, 5 page bibliography, 2 page grass nursery listing, USDA and European hardiness maps, and a complete index of all grasses by common name. Very complete book.

As a bonus, the book is also filled with awesome photography.

If you garden with ornamental grasses, this book is a must buy. Excellent information, well worth the money!

Excellent information and beautiful photos
If you have no grasses in your garden now, your yard will be transformed by this book. The cultural information is well researched and thorough, but it is the incredible photographs that will keep you reading. I often look up a particular grass and find myself still reading hour later. ... Read more