Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Identification    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Shrubs    6. Trees    7. United States    8. Trees & wildflowers   

Reviews (14)

It's just "OK"
Less than impressive small, thin paperback.Profiles only a small amount of species.There are at least a few errors: mislabeled photos and incorrectly identified species of plants and fish.

Good Manual to have.
This manual is worht the money and is very helpful in the types of Aquarium plants that work best with different species of fish and water conditions. I found this maunual to be well worth the money and very helpful and it does have diagrams to show you exactly what you're being instructed on.

Well worth the price 4++ stars
This little book is a very good value.It covers more than 40 different plants in its encylopedia section in addition to itsglossary and several different info sections, including info on lighting, nutrients, selection and care. It gives more info about plants than can be obtained in the more general information books and is very inexpensive.It could be organized a little better but it is still very useful and very much worth the price. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aquarium plants    2. Aquariums    3. Fish & Aquariums    4. Flowers - General    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Nature    7. Nature / Field Guide Books    8. Pets    9. Plants - General    10. Fishes & aquaria    11. Gardening: plants    12. Pets / Fish   

Subjects:  1. Alaska    2. Ichthyology    3. Identification    4. Marine Fauna    5. Marine animals    6. Marine fishes   

Subjects:  1. Bird Watching    2. Birds & Birdwatching - General    3. Guidebooks    4. Nature    5. Nature / Field Guide Books    6. Nature/Ecology    7. United States    8. Birds & birdwatching    9. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching    10. North America   

Reviews (2)

Fine addition, but you still need the other two volumes!
This volume provides a synthesis of knowledge and individual species accounts for the more than 650 species of land and marine mammals found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. It is the third and final part of a trilogy that now runs to over 1400 pages. The series began with the publication of the first volume in 1989 (The northern Neotropics: Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana), authored by Eisenberg alone. He was then joined by Redford for both the second volume (1992. The southern cone: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) and now the third. The general aim of this collection is to summarize in a single source what is known about the identity, distribution, history, and ecology of the mammalian fauna of the Neotropics. To this end, every genus and species of mammal known to occur in this biogeographic realm has been given a concise description, together with distributional maps of both known occurrences and estimated ranges. In some cases, figures of mammal parts, such as crania, and sketches and drawings of whole animals have been provided.
Of limited value if you don't buy the other two volumes ...
I bought this volume first and should have thought of it but I didn't ... since the central neotropics have many of the animals of the northern and the southern areas of the continent, many animals are only covered in shorthand style in this volume, as they've already been described in the other two volumes. Read more

Subjects:  1. Mammals    2. Nature    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Panama    6. South America    7. Biogeography    8. Bolivia    9. Brazil    10. Ecuador    11. Nature / Mammals    12. Peru   

Editorial Review

It's impressive how much National Geographic can squeeze into a small book. Each entry tellshow big the park is, describes its flavor, indicates when it's best to go and how to get there, and includes anelegantly useful map. A detailed tour of the sights includes glorious pictures (450 total), highlighting thebest of each park. But practicalities are not neglected: entries include headquarters' addresses and phones,entrance fees, facilities for the disabled, accommodations, pet regulations, and what there is to do. And so itgoes for each of the 54 parks--it's a gem of a guide. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

The BEST guide to the National Parks
We originally owned an older edition of this book and just purchased this to replace it.We have been to many National Parks over the years and have found this guide to be the best one out there.The drives as listed are fantastic... you won't miss anything if you have this book along with you!

Outstanding Resource
I obtained the first edition of this book over ten years ago, and have kept that along with the latest edition in my book collection ever since.At that time I had never been to a national park, but this little book insipired me to visit 35 of them, volunteer in two, and work seasonally as a ranger at one.
Best comprehensive guide to the national parks
We recently purchased this book just before our four-national-parks tour.The book not only gives you an overview of the parks, practical information such as how to get there, and nearby lodging etc., it has very good recommendation of must-see stops, and different levels of hikes you can take and what to expect.We used the book at every park and it helped us effectively use our time and it is a joy to read even without going to the parks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Travel    2. Travel - United States    3. United States - General    4. Travel & holiday guides    5. USA    6. Zoos & wildlife parks   

Reviews (25)

A great story of people, places, and a bird
I've got a small den with limited bookshelf space. I read 2-3 books a week and give most of them to the local library--the rest go to friends. This one is a keeper. It is up on the shelf with The Big Year, Into the Heart of the Sea, and Undaunted Courage.
Enough to make you want to buy a pair of chest waders
An exciting tale that is so well written, you can feel what it is like to be guiding your canoe through snags in the bottomland forest water. Gallager brings the characters and the search to life as he takes you down the trail that lead to the recent rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. Ever skeptical, I found myself reviewing the evidence in the book and on other sites online. I still feel amazed that the rediscovery might actually be true. And time will tell. This is a book every birder and every logger/developer should read.

Interesting story, but not overly convinced
Since it's last confirmed sighting in the 1940s, there have been several sightings of the Ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird throught to now be extinct.These sightings were, for one reason or another, either dismissed outright or the subject of much controversy.Suddenly, though, in the last couple years there have been a spate of possible sightings, leading the author, Tim Gallagher, to set out investigate further, in the process writing this book documenting his adventures and the fascinating story of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and its tragic disappearance.Sure enough, during the course of his investigation, he too happens to have a possible sighting, and things just begin to snowball from there, and its not long before other ornithologists are slopping and canoing through the swamps and bayous of the scattered remnants of once vast tracts of bottomland forests having their own possible sightings.All of this has raised the hopes of many who more than anything would like to see this species thrive once again.But that this species would after a number of decades of supposed extinction suddenly be observed with such relative frequency has led to much debate and controvery.All this makes for an interesting read, but when it comes down to the recent possible sightings, the book really doesn't offer much that is all that convincing.Fleeting glimpses, grainy video, and possible "double raps" (characteristic of the Ivory-billed) echoing faintly through the vast forest are not exactly overwhelming proof of anything, unfortunately.Hopefully, proof will emerge that somehow the Irovy-billed has managed to survive all this time; but I for one won't be holding my breath. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Birds & Birdwatching - General    2. Endangered species    3. Individual Species Of Birds    4. Ivory-billed woodpecker    5. Nature    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Nature/Ecology    8. United States    9. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching   

Reviews (2)

A superb easy reading book!
A must-read!
AFantastic Read
Dinosaur Bone is a fantastic read. Written in a gripping style by the world's expert on bone microstructure, this book explains one of the most recently developed and most useful techniques for the study of dinosaurs and other extinct animals. Dr. Chinsamy-Turan brings freshness to the subject that engages the reader from the first page to the last. Anyone who likes dinosaurs will find this book a fascinating look at a field that is revolutionizing our understanding of these magnificent creatures. Chapters on how bones are formed and structured, how dinosaurs grew and on the biology of early birds are presented in an accessible and easy to read fashion. It is amazing how the author takes a complicated subject and makes it understandable to readers from high school students to professors. She saves the best for last with a chapter on dinosaur physiology in which she discusses whether dinosaurs were hot-blooded or cold-blooded and how dinosaur bone helps answer that question. This book is a must read for anyone interested in dinosaur biology. It is appropriate for the young student in high school who is intrigued with dinosaurs as well as the graduate student in geology or physiology who is studying these animals as a profession. An amazing achievement, this book will stand as a landmark, not only in the field of paleontology, but in the field of modern ecology as well. Bones tell us tales about today's reptiles and mammals just as they do about yesterday's dinosaurs. Dinosaur Bone brings it all together in one place. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dinosaurs    2. Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures    3. Fossils    4. Life Sciences - Biology - General    5. Nature    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Reptiles, Fossil    8. Research    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Medical / History    12. Palaeozoology   

Subjects:  1. Appalachian Region, Southern    2. Education    3. Folklore    4. General    5. Georgia    6. Handicraft    7. Nature    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Rabun County    10. Rabun County (Ga.)    11. Social life and customs    12. Sociology - Rural    13. United States - State & Local - General    14. Crafts & Hobbies / General   

Reviews (1)

Great text
This is a great reference text for some common species as well as the unknown ones; especially if you want a quick reference of a variety of species to create a "species" or "community" tank this book will be helpful in decision making. The book gives good details regarding the expected size of the fish, general behavior and environment just to name a few. The photos contained within the text are well detailed. I would recommend this book to beginners and intermediate aquarists. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aquarium fishes    2. Fish & Aquariums    3. Freshwater Fish Anatomy And Physiology    4. Identification    5. Pets    6. Pictorial works    7. Aquarium fishes - Identification    8. Aquarium fishes - Pictorial works    9. Pets / Fish   

Reviews (2)

Introducing the Eastern Forest
The purpose of this guide is not to assist one in identifying species of flora and fauna found in the Eastern Forest--such a tome would be monumental in size--but rather to instill in the reader an understanding of the forest's general dynamics.The book is divided into eight sections; they are: A Great Buy, Very Interesting
This is a great field guide that covers many aspects of forests East of the Great Plains. Although it covers many common species of both animal and plant, it is not overly helpful for positively identifying individualspecies; and if one wants that, you are better off with a more specificfield guide (i.e., Eastern Birds). It does, however, detail the workings ofa forest and accompanies this fascinating text with 53 color plates, 80color photos and many black and white drawings. In the first few chapters,it demonstrates the different forest types through indicator species; andit details the process of Old Field succesion, and the animals and plantsthat come and go as the process progresses. In the last chaptersadaptation, and seasonal patterns are covered. I would highly reccommendthis field guide for any one who would like to know how a forest works. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Forest animals    2. Forest ecology    3. Forest plants    4. Forestry (Specific Aspects)    5. General    6. Identification    7. Life Sciences - Ecology    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Nature/Ecology    10. North America    11. Plant Ecology    12. Trees & wildflowers    13. USA   

Reviews (5)

The info you need is here
Great book. Lots of info on feeding, caring and general stingray keeping.
A little disorganized but it's all there!
The book jumps around a bit.I think that the information could have been organized a little better but it's all there nonetheless.
Great Book
This is a great book if you are going to buy or if you have
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Subjects:  1. Aquarium fishes    2. Fish    3. Fish & Aquariums    4. Freshwater stingrays    5. Nature    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Pets    8. Fishes & aquaria    9. Pets / Fish   

Reviews (1)

Uninspired writing
This book was a disappointment.I'm very interested in the topic but much of the book reads like a scientific paper.There is a lot of good, interesting information but, unless you're particularly interested in Carolina parakeets, as I am, suffering through the writing is probably not worth it.
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Subjects:  1. Birds & Birdwatching - General    2. Carolina parakeet    3. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    4. Extinct animals    5. Life Sciences - Zoology - Ornithology    6. Nature    7. Nature / Field Guide Books    8. Nature/Ecology    9. North America    10. Biological Sciences    11. Birds (ornithology)    12. Birds and Natural History    13. Endangered species & extinction of species    14. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching   

Reviews (2)

One of the finest books of Hawaiian photography.
This is one of the finest books of Hawaiian photography, however, don't look for touristy types of photographs of famous places.The book shows water, earth, air and fire, Hawaiian style.The photographs are sublime and eternal.The book is quiet and unassuming, the photographs tell the story.There is a description of all the photographs in the back of the book that tells the details the photographer has focused on.These details are not immediately apparent or even noticed in the photographs on a first look-through, and make the book all the more interesting.

Beautiful book covering many moods of Hawaii.
I was amazed at the number of moods this book captures around the theme of light using ocean, sky, and lava.Each page evokes a different emotional response.A truely excellent collection. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Nature / Field Guide Books    3. Photo Essays    4. Photoessays & Documentaries    5. Photography    6. Subjects & Themes - Travel - U.S./West    7. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/South America    8. Juvenile Fiction / Comics & Graphic Novels   

Reviews (4)

A fisherman's field guide
I grew up in So. California, so I've been fishing and diving the Pacific for many years. Now I live in Mexico and fish/dive the Gulf of California. I have never found a better field guide for these waters. I keep a copy on my boat and use it constantly.
My Very Favorite Fish Book
I do a lot of fishing and own quite a few books on fish. I also keep a life-time fish list, a list of every species of fish I have ever caught that I was able to correctly ID. I have found Fishes of the Pacific Coast by Gar Goodson in particular to be very useful for ID purposes, but I also find it to be very good writing, highly interesting, and full of information that most other fish ID books usually lack. For example, he tells you here if a fish is considered good eating, or not. He tells you where they are found, in how deep of water, locals, tidbits of history about the fish, and also what they eat. Fishes of the Pacific Coast by Gar Goodson
Fishes of the Pacific Coast is an excellent reference guide with beautiful full color illustrations of approximately 450 fish. I truly appreciated the inclusion of the fish of the upper Sea of Cortez. Small ecological and historical blurbs are fascinating. The handbook size makes it a must have on your diving or fishing boat. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fish    2. Fishes    3. Ichthyology    4. Identification    5. Nature    6. Pacific Coast (Central America    7. Pacific Coast (Central America)    8. Pacific Coast (North America)    9. Pacific Coast (South America)    10. Fishes (ichthyology)    11. Pacific Ocean   

Subjects:  1. Animals    2. Canada    3. Identification    4. Mammals    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. United States    8. Nature / Mammals   

Reviews (1)

Of Doubtful Value
I found this book to be a disappointment.I hunt in Africa (not South Africa) and am fortunate enough to return on return on a yearly basis.I do not consider myself an expert on Africa by any means, and indeed, I wonder if anyone can really become an expert on so vast a place as Sub-Saharan Africa, an area only slightly smaller than the 48 contiguous United States.This book has a disorganized feel as though it was rushed into print on short notice.It is hard to understand the point the author is trying to make.Africa has components that can be very dangerous at times, although no more dangerous than many other parts of the world including the US.The reality is that everyone tends to manage the dangers they are familiar with as best they can.This is no less true for Africa than for the US and the other Western nations.Many thousands die on the US highways every year, but people by the millions don't think twice about risking death by using them to get where they need to go.The same is true for Africa.If the indigenous Africans need to risk predation or similar dangers to get to where they need to go, they take the risk.Most people around the world manage risk quite well in their daily lives.A few behave recklessly, and they are the ones that tend to get into trouble.As the author finally points out at the end of the book, there are ways to cross Kruger National park without being killed by lions, but there is always a risk of death, just as there is always a risk of death in highly developed industrial societies.(Currently, the real risk of death in Africa is from AIDS.)Finally, his discussions about firearms show a real lack of knowledge.Someone knowledgeable about firearms, and organization of the written word, should have gone over this book before publication. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Death    2. Kruger National Park    3. Lion attacks    4. Mozambique    5. Nature    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Nature/Ecology    8. Refugees    9. South Africa    10. Wildlife    11. Nature / Wildlife   

Reviews (8)

Did you like the cetology chapters in Moby Dick?
Satisfy your literary and scientific interest in whales--and it is a select few who have both--with Payne's fantastic and sadly out-of-print book.
Among whales.
This was a marvelous read although its flaws were sometimes predictable. I will try to minimize references to the flaws because the book was generally a joy to read. Payne has spent his passion on whales and presents a treasure trove of information, about the behavior, history, plight, and politics of the great cetaceans. Where he sticks to empirical science (which fortunately is most of the book), the eminent whale biologist takes the reader along on a wonder-filled journey beneath the waves. Accounts of his personal life fit nicely with accounts of his work. The reader comes to feel that, in some sense, he knows right whales and humpbacks, and knows Mr. Payne. The insights into the psychology, economics and politics of whaling are fascinating and troubling and are issues with which more people should have some familiarity. Touched By Whales
I am astonished that this book is out of print.How can this be?Why aren't people using it as a textbook in writing, psychology, ethics and marine biology classes?Why aren't high schools and universities clamouring to have Roger Payne speak at their commencement exercises? Why isn't he being interviewed by Oprah and Good Morning America?Why isn't the name Roger Payne as familiar to us as Jacques Cousteau or Keiko the whale?Believe me, it should be.Read more

Subjects:  1. Cetacea    2. Mammals    3. Marine Life    4. Marine Mammals    5. Nature / Field Guide Books    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Whales    8. Wildlife conservation    9. Aquatic creatures    10. Nature / General   

Reviews (1)

spectacular guide to all herons, egrets, and bitterns!
Authors James Hanock and James Kushlan, along with illustrators Robert Gillmor and Peter Hayman have put together a simply gorgeous guide to all the world's species of herons, egrets, and bitterns. A guide to herons on every continent except Antarctica, all 60 species as recognized by the book, it is a thorough treatment of each one. Each species has a breathtaking color illustration, many times an additional black and white illustration, the common name, genus and species name, alternate common names, when and who first described it as species, maps illustrating range (including directions of migration and areas of casual occurrences), several paragraphs describing in detail their physical appearance, notes on their distribution and population, migration, habitat, behavior flying, feeding, and breeding, descriptions of nests, eggs, and young, and a note or two on taxonomy. Subspecies are noted as well; for instance a two page color range map depicts the 30 subspecies of the green-backed heron, found throught the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, and several Pacific and Indian Ocean island groups. Read more

Subjects:  1. Ardeidae    2. Birds & Birdwatching    3. Herons    4. Nature / Field Guide Books    5. Nature/Ecology   

Reviews (5)

Tree
I was a little disappointed in this book.I had been hoping it would be a more affordable version of Thomas Pakenham's "Remarkable Trees of the World"--straightforward photographs of unusual trees.Balog's pictures, however, are tricked up--the trees are wrapped in cloth a la Christo'strees in Central Park, or the photographs themselves are sliced and diced.Balog's book is more art than botany.

Conveys the Spirit of each tree.
Using multiple images and then overlaying them with 1000's of hours in Photoshop Balog presents a view of trees we can never get with our own eyes.No one can get.These images are at once photographically "real" and surprisingly artistic.As such, they convey the spirit of each tree - not easy to do in any medium.Enjoy.

More than a coffe table book
It is a book for those that are tired of the standard, boring photography, like me.True photography is an art in creating a painting out of film.This photographer often made his own type of canvas within the limits of nature it's self.Rather than just take pictures of a beautiful tree as they were, he let you into the world of a tree through various angle shots, multiple shots, and different backgrounds.He created them and didn't just shove a camera in their direction.He made them appear to be living and moving creatures.It's magical and chilling.Instead of just shooting landscape with gorgeous trees in it he chose to make a story behind it all.This was not another average project that was only about seeking the pretty and portraying only that.It feels as though there are real thoughts behind those trees.Or as though there is some bigger idea than just beauty.For example: In one frame he adjusted the focus just a bit to make it seem as though this tree was actually reaching out to you with it's limbs, aching for you to take hold of it!In another it appears as though one unaware tree was caught dancing.These are just some teasers but there is so much more.It's like make-up!Make-up was meant as an enhancer not a total make-over.That just is what he has done.Enhanced something already beautiful on it's own and made it all so alluring.I hope whoever buys this book looks at this peice of art with the mind of, "now this is what it truly is all about."This is what I raid the shelves for in the books I choose to read, in the movies I choose to watch, and in the art I choose to spy apon.Idea.Bigger and better than the creation itself!This is not a book for the coffe table!It is better than that and deserves the study of thought.If you are like me this is a book for you and not just your coffe table chatter like so many others.I encourage all to venture away from normal and step into the universe of imagination! ... Read more

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