Reviews (6)

Awesome
This books is very informational.I have gotten a lot of information from it and the pictures are fabulous!I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Marine Mammals.My daughter wants to be a Marine Biologist/Marine Mammal Trainer and this book gave her all the right information at the right time.

Much more than expected!
Audubon has certainly delivered their best in this marine life field guide! When I bought this, I expected it to be the usual good Audubon repeat of their previous field guides. I was quite impressed by the number of species inserted, and the special illustrations used along with it. There are a surprising number of families and subspecies listed also. Very informative, but a few minor quibbles
I picked this book up at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago (inspired by the walrus exhibit).It is a very informative guide and beautifully illustrated.Read more

Subjects:  1. Identification    2. Mammals    3. Marine Life    4. Marine Mammals    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Marine & freshwater mammals    8. Nature / Marine Life   

Reviews (6)

Beautiful
Living in California oak country, I have searched for just such a book to help learn about these beautiful trees. This is the best information I've found.

Beautiful and useful
If you are used to books with line drawing of leaves that make it impossible to use as a reference, then you will love this book.It is a great study as well as a beauty.If you only have one book on the Oaks of California, this should be it.If you have many books on Oaks, this is still going to be one of the most used. Useful and beautiful!

If you love California's oaks...
this is a magnificent book. I just cannot get over the glory of the native oaks and this book captures that glory well. It covers all native species with a nice amount of detail. The photographs are beautiful. What I actually found the most intriguing was the great history the authors provide on the oaks, and the incredible ecosystem that depends on their existence. The book even provides information on parks and drives statewide where mature native oaks can be visited. I have had this book for many months now and it is one I continually pick up again and again. It inspired me to plant several native oaks at home and take inpeccable care of the one large oak (treasure) that came as an added bonus to a beautiful old home. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Nature / Field Guide Books    2. Nature/Ecology    3. Plants    4. Plants - General    5. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS   

Reviews (4)

Serviceable and Entertaining
My goal in purchasing this book, which pulls together information about birds, shells, dune plants, and fish was to be able to pack one slim volume instead of the bag of field guides I usually took to the Outer Banks. After two trips to North Carolina in the last year, I have found that I still need to carry a couple of other references because this is not comprehensive in any one of its categories--and how could it be at 148 pages? However, Meyer's guide does manage to cover many of the specimens commonly found along the Carolina coast.Furthermore, it is written in a graceful voice that keeps you reading long after you've put a name to the beastie you found on the beach. It is not childish or simple at all, but it can be used by the entire family. It stirs wonder.

Interesting guide...
Being a transplant from Michigan, I had little knowledge of coastal animals and plants. I purchased this book to satisfy my curiosity. I'm not knowledgeable enough as the other reviewer who found the inaccuracies in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. The information is presented in a very interesting way and all the photographs are in color. I can't wait to spend more time on the coast and see some of the creatures myself.I'll definitely have this guide on hand. I also enjoyed the respect the author has for nature.

Some SERIOUS problems in the plates, otherwise ok
Overall an ok book for a beginner. If you come into this as a naturalist you will likely be disapointed. There are some otherserious problems that I was able to spot straight out.Read more

Subjects:  1. Coastal animals    2. Coastal ecology    3. General    4. Identification    5. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    6. Nature / Animals    7. Nature / Field Guide Books    8. Nature/Ecology    9. North Carolina    10. South Carolina    11. Travel / United States / South / South Atlantic (DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV)    12. Animals    13. Guidebooks    14. Science    15. Travel    16. Wildlife watching   

Reviews (2)

Indispensible for the serious birder
This book is one of my favorite birding books. I am reticent to call it a field guide because it is so much more than that. Incredible amounts of information on all the sparrows. Great range maps AND descriptions of migration and vagrancy (can I hope to see this bird in my area?), and all the other natural history and behavior information you'd expect. Beautiful plates showing ALL the different plumages, primary and basic, male, female and juvenal. And it's not just a wealth of information, it's a beautiful book, well written and a delight to own.

A readable, useable, technical guide.
Sparrows. Yippee. But if you want to learn them, this is the book.Read more

Subjects:  1. Birds & Birdwatching - General    2. Birds & Birdwatching - Guides    3. Nature    4. Nature / Field Guide Books    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Biological Sciences    7. Birds and Natural History    8. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    9. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching   

Reviews (3)

National Geographic Field Guide to Trees of North America
Good leaf, fruit, bud and bark pictures. Typical of NG. Uses a lot of symbols to describe a tree which means going back and forth a lot. Does not give tree height or branch geography.

A surprising amount of detail for what initially looks to be light pocket tote reading
There are plenty of guides to trees on the market - but few offered in a portable tote format which truly lends to pocket take-along. You can put this in a backpack or even a back pocket: it's slim, compact, yet full of color illustrations of the complete tree plus close-ups of leaves, buds, flower and more. Keith Rushforth is an arboricultural consultant and expert urban forester: his expertise and coverage are extensively represented and provide a surprising amount of detail for what initially looks to be light pocket tote reading.
Nice illustrations but---
a HORRIBLE GUIDE!I am an arborist and use field guides all of the time.This is the WORST guide I have ever tried to use.There is little or no organization in the way each tree is described.Sometimes a tree's height is given in the opening description, other times you have to search for it in the body of the entry.Sometimes a flower is described, other times no description appears at all.Each feature that may define a tree is thrown in, in a slapdash manner, or left out, completely.It's as if the authors knew that NG was paying them big bucks for a guide, and they simply threw it together as fast as they could to get their paychecks.Forget ever trying to read this guide if you don't have your degree in the sciences, as I do.The terminology is straight out of Botany 101/102, and you'll use the glossary to make it through each and every tree description.FWIW, the measurements are given using the metric system. I guess it's a guide for Canadians, so if you're in the US and haven't been raised with metric measurements, you'll be frustrated on this count, as well.The tiny symbol key that lets you know which symbol stands for each type of area a given tree may be found in is almost impossible to make out.If you have a magnifying lense, you'll be OK.Again, if you like great illustrations of trees and their constituent parts, this guide may be for you.If you want a good guide that helps you identify trees easily--PASS THIS ONE BY! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Nature    2. Nature / Field Guide Books    3. Nature/Ecology    4. Trees    5. Trees & Forests - General    6. Nature / Trees   

Reviews (5)

The American palm compendium
Palms are a very conspicuous feature of the tropical landscape, whether in the wilds of Central and South America or in the suburban environments further north. They are also important economically (usually as fruit crops) and culturally (having uses as diverse as roofing, as material for weaving hammocks as fodder for edible beetle larvae!). Since everyone knows what a palm is, yet most non-specialists cannot get much beyond that, this guide to their identification should fill a niche.
a must have
if you're interested in neotropical palms, you ought to buy this excellent guide. all three authors are considered to be highly esteemed authorities who know their stuff very well. the description said it had approximately 380 pages, but together with all the appendices and photo pages, the total number of pages gets to 500.

A must for all palm enthusiasts
Overall it would say that it 's the excellent job that authors has put together all the description of American palm species. It would be welcome among serious palm collectors as well as reserchers.Read more

Subjects:  1. Nature/Ecology    2. Nature / Field Guide Books    3. Trees    4. Palms    5. Biological Sciences    6. Botany & plant sciences    7. Nature / Plants    8. The Americas    9. America    10. Plants - General    11. Nature    12. Identification   

Reviews (4)

Jade
From this heavy tome, you will learn how artists "let the jade speak tothem" before carving wondrous works of art.The properties of jade areperfect for carving because its molecular structure is tightly bound.Jadecan suffer great detail in carving without cracking or chipping. Jade
From this heavy tome, you will learn how artists "let the jade speak tothem" before carving wondrous works of art.The properties of jade areperfect for carving because its molecular structure is tightly bound.Jadecan suffer great detail in carving without cracking or chipping. exceptional worldly jade book
Extremely great book on the subject of jade. Book even includes the very rare today "Wyoming Jade"...should be a book devoted to that subject. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Crafts & Hobbies    3. General    4. Hobbies/Crafts    5. Lapidary    6. Sculpture    7. Antiques & Collectables    8. Carving & carvings    9. Rocks, minerals & fossils   

Subjects:  1. Birds & Birdwatching - General    2. Nature    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Biological Sciences    6. Birds & birdwatching    7. Birds (ornithology)    8. Birds and Natural History    9. East Africa    10. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching   

Reviews (1)

Great Resource
This book is an excellent resource for learning about what to feed most birds that will visit your garden.There are also ideas and instructions on how to build birdfeeders - from simple to more complex.A must-have for anyone who enjoys back-yard birdwatching. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Birds & Birdwatching - General    2. Nature    3. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching    4. Nature / Field Guide Books    5. Pets / Birds    6. Bird Watching    7. Birds    8. Birds & Birdwatching    9. Pets   

Reviews (3)

Pleased and alsovery disappointed
I looked forward to receiving this book and the caterpillar photos are beyond compare except for a couple that are too dark. For those who have raised caterpillars and been interested in them these photos are magnificant.
The Beautiful Caterpillars
This book will change the way you feel about caterpillars. It transforms them from ugly pests into objects of beauty and of intellectual fascination. Based on more than twenty-five years of field research in the tropics by Janzen and Hallwachs and their assistants, it contains not only magnificent photos but also a wealth of information on the behavior and ecology of the species represented. It is at the same time a wonderful coffee table book and a great naturaly history read. In sum, I loved this book, and intend to give it as Christmas presents to all of my nature-loving friends.

Don't Forget the Larvae
We don't generally like insects much, remembering how they sting, sicken, or impoverish us, and forgetting that they do us invaluable service in the reproduction of new generations of countless plant species.We do like butterflies because they are so beautiful and harmless, but we do not like caterpillars because they are squirmy and eat our plants.There are countless books featuring pictures of beautiful butterflies and moths, but few featuring the larval forms of the insect.A look at _100 Caterpillars: Portraits from the Tropical Forests of Costa Rica_ (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press) by Jeffrey C. Miller, Daniel H. Janzen, and Winifred Hallwachs shows that the emphasis on the flying forms may be misplaced.The gorgeous, large-format pictures here show all the colors of which adult butterflies can boast, plus an enormous variation in patterns, spikes, hairs, body plans, and more.Indeed, after the hundred photographs, there is a section of the book devoted to detailed descriptions of the behavior and ecology of each caterpillar, and for each there is a small picture of the adult into which it will grow.Almost all the adults are more drab and less interesting than their larvae.
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Subjects:  1. Butterflies & Moths    2. Caterpillars    3. Costa Rica    4. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    5. Insects & Spiders    6. Nature    7. Nature / Field Guide Books    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Pictorial works    10. Butterflies    11. Insects (entomology)    12. Nature / Butterflies   

Reviews (2)

cute little leathery mammal guys
The fact that you're reading this review indicates that you already know that bats are good guys, not bad guys. 'Nuff said.
Excellent Bat Book!
Last Christmas I got a Bat Detector (from Bat Conservation International).The instructions with it were very poor so I asked a local naturalist if she knew of any good bat books and specifically any that would indicate what frequency to tune the bat detector in to for our local bats.She recommended this book and its terrific! There's a short section up front that talks about bats and how they echolocate as well as the frequencies that they do it at so this was perfect for me and my bat detector (boy is it cool!).The real meat of the book is an id guide with great pictures and interesting information about each ofthe different species of bats - similar to a bird id book.Since bats are genenerally out at dusk and they fly so fast I haven't been able to make use of the pictures and actually id the bats but I've narrowed it down by where we live and what we're likely to see so its fun to have a reference to read about them more specifically.Excellent excellent book and a must have if you've just gotten a bat detector and need to know what frequency to tune into.Highly recommended! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bats    2. Identification    3. Mammals    4. Mice    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. North America    8. Nature / Mice   

Reviews (3)

Nice general book
This is a very readable book - Bonney puts words together well. Not a "must have" in a beekeeper's library but a good general discussion of relevant topics. Assumes basic beekeeping knowledge. Overlaps with his beginner's book (Beekeeping: a Complete Guide); this would be aptly titled "Your Second Year as a Beekeeper."

This one is a keeper (pun intended).
In the past year I have borrowed from the library all the books I could find about beekeeping .This is one I plan to add to my personal library.

Excellent, very informative, a must have reference
Cover the subject in detail for good managemen ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Apiculture    2. Bee culture    3. Bees    4. Crafts & Hobbies    5. Hobbies/Crafts    6. Insects & Spiders    7. Nature    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Seasonal    10. Apiculture (beekeeping)    11. Nature / Insects & Spiders   

Subjects:  1. Antarctica    2. General    3. Individual Species Of Mammals    4. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    5. Mammals    6. Marine Life    7. Nature    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Nature/Ecology    10. Science    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Seals (Animals)    13. Marine & freshwater mammals    14. Science / Zoology    15. Seals (Animals)--Antarctica   

Reviews (4)

Darling!
This is based on a true story.Margarete, who considered herself a typical grandmother, ran across a downed baby bird in her flower patch.She tried to put the bird back in the nest as a helpful soul, but that didn't work.She tried several times, describing her attempts to reach the nest by roof and ladder like a gymnastics move - remember, this is a grandmother.Each time she completed the task only to find the bird back in the flower patch down below.When she decided to raise the bird herself, it was of course only going to be temporary. Amazing!
It is the heartwarming story of a lady and her bird. Brings tears to the eyes!Superbly written! A great biography for any one who even remotely likes animals!

Bravo!
Heartwarming story about a remarkable woman and the wild bird that captivated her heart. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Birds & Birdwatching - General    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Starlings    6. Starlings as pets    7. Nature / General   

Reviews (8)

A waste of money
This book may be of interest to an icthyolgist, but it's not much use to a fisherman. The color illustrations are very poor. They all have a washed out yellowish tint, and thus the illustrated fish tend to look all alike. The non color illustrations are better, but the book relies mostly on descriptions.

An indispensible guide to fish
I perform wildlife surveys for corporations all over the east coast. Half the weight of my equipment is Peterson Field Guides, which give me quick and easy identification of flora and fauna found and often eliminates the need for dicotomous keys and microscope work. This particular guide has helped me puzzle out a lot of small fish I come across. Well written, excellant illustrations, an important part of my library.

Far from great
This book has some of the worst fish illustrations i have ever seen. Text is far too brief. This volume tries to cover too much and does not cover anything well.... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Fish    3. Fishes    4. Freshwater fishes    5. Identification    6. Nature    7. Nature/Ecology    8. United States    9. Aquatic creatures    10. Fishes (ichthyology)    11. Freshwater biology, limnology    12. Freshwater life    13. Nature / Fish   

Reviews (4)

A Good, Bad, and Ugly Field Guide
The Good:
You can't go without it.
This book, referred to by many other authors, is THE guide for this group of Mammals. I found it indispensible for use in the rainforest, even if most mammals are very hard to see. The perfect illustrations, combined with the thorough descriptions and clear distribution maps, make it easy to determine what kind of animal you've seen. Very helpful to understand the local guides are the translations of the names in many tongues.

It's a very practical and well illustrated fieldguide
It's the most usefull book I own related with the mammalfauna proyects ( inventories, education, management ) we are doing in Central and Western Colombia. Every aspect of the text and illustrations has proven to be veryusefull and practical. The taxonomical descriptions are generaly goodenough to clasify the bigger species in the field, and the habit andhabitat descriptions coincide mostly with our own experiences. Thedistributionmaps included in the text are also very usefull. Theillustrations are sometime a little small, but have proven to be easilyrecognized by the local habitants, what is extremely usefull during quickinventaries. The relation price-quality is outstanding ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Environmental Science    2. Environmental Studies    3. Identification    4. Latin America    5. Mammals    6. Rain forest animals    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Zoology    9. Science / Zoology   

Reviews (6)

Foxfire 5 is excellent.
The information contained within Foxfire 5 has come in handy for Duane many a times for learning how to do stuff. Most of the old methods are now lost to the current generation of Americans. It is a good reference for someone who wants to learn hands-on skills, such as blacksmithing and other independent living skills.

Not what I expected it to be
I have the Foxfire two book which goes into detail about how to take sheep's wool, card it, spin it and make something. It also tell how to build a horse wagon. There are lots of pictures and drawings.
Another "MUST HAVE" for your bookshelf
If you enjoy the Appalachian culture, you'll love theFOXFIRE books. Volume No. 5 covers bear hunting, blacksmithing and gun making. If you've never read these books, it may be difficult, since the text is written in the vernacular of the mountain folk, but this adds to the charm and "character" of the books. The bear hunting stories wer entertaining, but I really enjoyed reading about Hacker Martin and Hershall House. If you want to know how life really was in the Smokey Mountains, read this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Appalachian Region, Southern    2. Country life    3. Crafts & Hobbies    4. General    5. Handicraft    6. Hobbies/Crafts    7. Metal Work    8. Nature    9. Nature / Field Guide Books    10. Social life and customs    11. United States - State & Local - General    12. Crafts & Hobbies / General   

Reviews (1)

Full color photographs of each fascinating species
The team effort of Carl H. Ernst (Professor of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia) and Evelyn M. Ernst (Director of Information for the National Science Resource Center in Washington DC), Snakes Of The United States And Canada Is a brilliantly conceived and presented, 668-page encyclopedia filled from cover to cover with concise descriptions and up-to-date information concerning habitats, predators, behavior, reproduction, and more for all of the American and Canadian snake species from coast to coast. Full color photographs of each fascinating species are combined with meticulous, detailed, definitive descriptive entries, making Snakes Of The United States And Canada a professional quality addition to professional and academic Herpetology Resource reference collections. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Nature    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Reptiles    6. Reptiles & Amphibians    7. Snakes    8. United States    9. North America   

Editorial Review

The literature of bird watching is full of memoirs set in out-of-the-way, rural locales, but few are set in the heart of big cities such as New York, where Read more

Reviews (20)

Repeated Enjoyment
Every year goes by and this simple tale becomes more treasured and heartwarming.I have given dozens of copies of this book to friends, birders and non interested alike.Everyone is grateful for the inspiration that this unusual piece of nature brings.
Purchased this book in protest against Pale Male's eviction
As a New Yorker, I hadn't really paid much attention to Pale Male before this unfortunate state of affairs. There was somethingshockingly callous and arrogant in the way the board of 927 Fifth Avenue destroyed this magnificent bird's home. I hope the hawks will eventually get their nest back.
Enchanting
As I write this at the very end of 2004, a red-tailed hawk drama has hit the press: The nest of a minor celebrity, Pale Male, the hero of the non-fictional "Red Tails in Love," had his nest summarily and probably illegally removed from the tony 5th Avenue address where he has nested for many a year.
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Subjects:  1. Bird watching    2. Birds & Birdwatching - General    3. Essays    4. Individual Species Of Birds    5. Nature    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Nature/Ecology    8. New York    9. New York (State)    10. Red-tailed hawk    11. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching   

Reviews (3)

AnExcellentFieldGuide
After a disappointing look through other mammal field guides, I came across this little gem. Instead of illustrations it uses photos (except for the whales, some illustrations). I almost passed on it because I wasn't used to seeing these kinds of photographs in a field guide: they are digitally edited and have the appearance of being cut out and pasted onto the white pages. However, it soon became clear that the photos are of exceptional quality and could beat out the competetion as far as completeness of subject matter. For example: there are about fifty photos of chipmunks; there are photos of both morphs of the Arctic Fox in summer and winter. Two variations of the blue phase are shown in summer coat. The pups for both colors are included.
The new standard for North American mammal field guides
This is an excellent book and is a worthy addition to the collection of all naturalists, mammalogists, and people interested in nature.Photos don't always work as well as illustrations in field guides but the Kaufman Focus Guides have rectified this situation by digital manipulation of the photos.Some larger species (whales, porpoises, and dolphins) are illustrated but also include photos.In addition to the very good photo images, species accounts appear to be well-detailed and current.One of the strong points of this field guide is that all information for a species is before your eyes; no flipping like in some other mammal field guides.The photo images are on the right side of the page along with common name and weight and measurement (non-metric).On the left side is the common and scientific names, species account, range map, and an illustration of one footprint for most of the larger, terrestrial mammals.The species accounts includes information on differentiating between similar species.Many species have multiple photos which is helpful and the young of many larger mammals are depicted.The worst of the photos (such as Alaska Marmot and Alpine Chipmunk) are still good but only consist of one image each.In my opinion, this is the new mammal field guide standard.

A wonderful field guide
A brief jargon filled synopis:Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals    2. Identification    3. Mammals    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. North America    7. Nature / Mammals