Great Britain (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • GREAT travel guide for Great Britain!
  • Great for London Town and Trips From There...
  • Worn it out with several trips, but still haven't tapped it's full potential
  • Lotsa pretty pictures!
  • Great Guide
Great Britain (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

Manufacturer: DK Travel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Great Britain | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Eyewitness | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0789493853

Amazon.com

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive, engrossing, and just plain fun-to-read guidebook than the Eyewitness Travel Guide: Great Britain. Spilling over with all sorts of useful information for the traveler, you'll find three-dimensional drawings, floor plans, and detailed neighborhood maps, as well as timelines, charts, and even popular bus routes. Broken into several sections--"Introducing Great Britain," "Region by Region" (including London and environs, Scotland, and Wales), "Traveler's Needs," and "Survival Guide"--the guide paints a complete picture of the country. Readers will especially appreciate the hundreds of color photos of everything from London's double-decker buses to the ancient formations at Stonehenge. You'll also find street-by-street illustrated city walks (Covent Garden, Westminster), as well as scenic hikes in the Scottish highlands and the Lake District, with plenty of listings for inns and fish-and-chip taverns along the way. --Jill Fergus

Book Description

Eyewitness Travel Guides are the original illustrated travel guidebooks-and they're still the best. Since 1993, the Eyewitness brand has established itself as one of the industry leaders, with sales of more than 6.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. Featuring more than 70 worldwide destinations, new titles are being added to the best-selling Eyewitness Travel Guides series each year. In 2003, to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Eyewitness Travel Guides, DK is re-launching the entire series, fully updated, and with a brand-new look.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars GREAT travel guide for Great Britain!.......2007-08-13

I recently spent 8.5 weeks in Great Britain, and I bought this book to help me plan out my trip... places I wanted to visit, particular sights I wanted to see, etc. It was perfect! The pages are filled with pictures and valuable information, making it very appealing to read - unlike many other tour books that are simply filled with text. This book also includes maps of many cities and city centres, which I found extremely helpful in the places I visited. A great guide all around!

5 out of 5 stars Great for London Town and Trips From There..........2007-04-28


We used this guide to plan a week in London which included trips to outlying places... Oxford, Windsor, Sussex. It was a big help while we were there but more than that, it was also a great "dream and drool" wish book, for the places we saw and those we hope some day to see.

The size is doable as a take-along guide, but perhaps best left in one's room and then consulted before each excursion (it is a tad heavy in the purse or backpack). But then again there is nothing like having the cut away perspective drawings of places like Westminster Abbey to add to the enjoyment of a visit. Ditto the National Gallery cut-away.

The London maps and street finder are very good. The section on the River View of London prompted us to take a river tour our first late-afternoon there and it gave us excellent sense of direction for where the landmarks were throughout our visit (even tho we ventured to them by tube).

Maps, photos, drawings, facts, all are first rate.

5 out of 5 stars Worn it out with several trips, but still haven't tapped it's full potential.......2007-03-19

We've used this guide book for:
- Two trips to Scotland;
- Multiple trips to London and surrounding areas, both for business and pleasure;
- A recent trip to Oxford, with side trips to the Cotswolds, Windsor Castle et al.

For sites to see, the DK guide books have excellent maps, points of interest and "star sights", their recommendation of places you must see. I've found their Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral sections in this book particularly well done, and the coverage of London plus maps have prevented us from having to purchase a separate London guide. The Blenheim Palace, Oxford University and Cotswolds section were very helpful on this last go round. Recommendation on places to stop and things to see in Scotland saved the day on a long road trip from Glasgow up Loch Ness, over to Perth, finishing in Edinburgh...the stop for sheep shearing save my kids and my sanity.

One site recommendation that was oversold in the book was the hillside chalk figures in the Vale of the White Horse (Thames Valley)...interesting history, not much to see.

The recommendations on eateries and hotels are well done, we've used them for Scotland and London. In Oxford, we stayed at the wonderful Remont B&B, which is not listed in the version of the guide we have but may and should be listed in new/future versions.

We will wear this guide out on future trips.

5 out of 5 stars Lotsa pretty pictures!.......2007-03-08

Excellent. Same quality content as the Fodder's guides, but with so many more illustrations, maps, etc.

5 out of 5 stars Great Guide.......2007-01-19

This product exceeded my expectations, in its readability and quality. The book itself has thick pages and a nice laminated cover (not much of a pocket size though, and heavy). The illustrations, including the street maps broken down into neighborhoods are beautiful and easy to understand. The text and background is informative and concise, making a interesting reading experience even if you are not traveling to the UK.

I did not get alot out of the hotel and restaurant guide however, I think it should be supplemented with other information about hotels and restaurants, which is easy to find on the internet.

I suggest this book to anyone who is going, or wishes they were going, to the UK, especially England.
Birds, Beasts, and Relatives
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Another book of lovely excursions to the island of Corfu
  • Good product
  • Menagerie
  • Another fix of Durrell family fun
  • My family and other animals
Birds, Beasts, and Relatives
Gerald Durrell
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0142004405
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Book Description

Part coming-of-age autobiography and part nature guide, Gerald DurrellÂ's dazzling sequel to My Family and Other Animals is based on his boyhood on Corfu, from 1933 to 1939. Originally published in 1969 but long out of print, Birds, Beasts, and Relatives is filled with charming observations, amusing anecdotes, boyhood memories, and childlike wonder.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Another book of lovely excursions to the island of Corfu.......2007-09-24

This is another wonderful books of Gerald Durrell's memories of his time on the island of Corfu prior to the Second World War. He takes us back to another time and place before the world changed for good.

Each chapter is a separate story and rememberence of those days when as a young man he marvels at not only the natural world around him, but also the various people he encounters and learns to appreciate. It is easy to get lost in one of these stories and feel like you are there with him on a hot summer day with his faithful dogs tagging along beside him.

I recommend this book to anyone who not only loves nature, but also can appreciate a time gone by when people were different and even strangers were looked as guests. This book is one that I intend to read again and again in the coming years and will appreciate the stories just much each time as the first time.

5 out of 5 stars Good product.......2007-08-16

The books arrived in perfect condition and in very good time. I am completely satisfied.

4 out of 5 stars Menagerie.......2003-10-07

Gerald Durrell is the younger brother of Lawrence Durrell. The island of Corfu lies off of the Albanian and Greek coastlines. The family settled there to escape the deary English weather.

Gerald's mother fought a losing battle with the Greek language. The family members became familiar with all of the peasants in the region. Gerald had a tutor named George who was an adept of fencing and an adult scientist friend named Theodore.

Gerald visited the rock pools while his sister swam. Margo's sun bathing bothered a church functionary, a monk. Gerald sought permission to follow a fisherman, to accompany him in his boat when he fished at night. The fisherman used a trident to catch scorpios.

There was a myrtle forest near the family's house. Gerald received a rich dark brown donkey for his birthday. The donkey was used by Gerald to transport things. Larry brought home friends, artists and writers, and brought home an artist who could play the accordian, Sven.

Theordore had told a countess that Gerald, who was a fairly young boy at the time, was a naturalist and had a number of pets. The countess offered to give him a white owl who had an injured wing. Gerald went to fetch it and to meet her on his donkey.

He wanted to add baby hedgehogs to his menagerie. When he went away for a weekend his sister overfed them and they died. The book is joyous and colorful. The snippets above are used to give the reader a sense of what to expect.

4 out of 5 stars Another fix of Durrell family fun.......2001-02-06

I eagerly read this after "My Family and Other Animals" (which I had enjoyed immensely). It contains stories which were omitted from "My Family" and while the offerings were still magical and wonderfully well-written and sometimes hilarious (especially the story about the turtle), it lacked the memorability of its predecessor. There was also no real structure in the order of the stories, this is more of a miscellaneous collection.

5 out of 5 stars My family and other animals.......2000-02-29

I read Gerald Durrell's books 10 years ago, while I was still living in Romania. I loved his books from the first page to the last and literally I couldn't put them down until I finished them. The best humour I ever met in books! His stile is unique. I am planning on reading all of them again in English. I would recommend them to anyone!
Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Wagtails and Jackdraws
  • Perfect size
  • Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-west Europe.
  • Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe
  • Please let them publish one for North America!
Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe
Chris Kightley , and Steve Madge
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

EcologyEcology | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0300074557

Book Description

This invaluable book is the ultimate pocket guide to the birds of Britain and north-west Europe. Covering birds of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Britain, and Ireland, it describes 386 species, including all breeding species and all regular and scarce migrants.

The definitive and accurate text highlights the key features that are required to make quick and safe identification. Almost every species is illustrated with a plate and all plumages regularly seen in the region are depicted. Similar species are compared to scale on double-page spreads as an aid to identification. Numerous maps are also included.

Copublished with Pica Press

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Wagtails and Jackdraws.......2006-11-06

I went to Germany this past summer and saw many birds I could not identify. Upon returning I searched online for birding guides that covered Germany, and this one showed up many times as being recommended, so I bought it.

The guide is wonderful with lots of high-quality color illustrations and descriptions of birds and their geographical habitats by season, and for some birds includes stage of life. It covers North-West Europe with a focus on Britain and Ireland, so when I return to Europe I'll be sure to bring this guide!

4 out of 5 stars Perfect size.......2006-03-22

This is a very nice field guide. I especially like the indexes on the inside of the front and back cover. All field guides should be like this. It sure saves a lot of searching in the alphabetical indexes and eliminates all the post it markers I use in my other field guides. Will be going to Britain in several weeks and looking forward to getting a few lifers.Not the most detailed of guides but perfect for traveling.

5 out of 5 stars Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-west Europe........2001-07-27

I checked this book out of the library prior to a trip to London, and now I'm going to buy a copy for my library. This is such a well laid out book, and the perfect size for the field. The information on the covers is particularly nice, with black and white illustrations of members of all the families so that you can quickly determine where in the guide to look for details. This is very helpful because there are many unfamiliar birds there that don't fit into the categories of birds we're used to in the states. And right inside the front cover is a color-coded index to help you quickly get to the section you need. I also liked the interesting facts about the birds that you don't see in many field guides. If you need a guide to birds for this area, this is definitely the one to have!

5 out of 5 stars Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe.......2001-06-16

I ordered this book for a trip to Northern Germany and really lucked out. I read previous reviews, liked the format and size and gave it a shot. It was perfect for my needs. I recommend it highly.

5 out of 5 stars Please let them publish one for North America!.......2001-05-23

Before our vacation in Denmark this month, I purchased this guide and based my selection on the 2 previous reviews and its small size. Boy, did I get lucky! This is one great field guide! Not only is all the pertinent information for each species located on one page, but that one page is also full of all sorts of interesting items (such as behaviors and flight patterns), written and/or pictured. If the authors would compile a similar guide for our North American species, it would surely replace my almost-worn-out National Geographic (my previous favorite)!
Amazing Traveler Isabella Bird: The Biography of a Victorian Adventurer
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Great book - so much to admire in this woman!
Amazing Traveler Isabella Bird: The Biography of a Victorian Adventurer
Evelyn Kaye
Manufacturer: Blue Panda Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0962623148

Book Description

Award-winning biography of 19th adventure Isabella Bird who visited Colorado, Hawaii and Australia, and gallivanted around Japan, China, Korea, Russia and Tibet writing best-selling books about her travels.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Great book - so much to admire in this woman!.......2000-04-11

I loved this book. What a character! Not only did she travel the world, but she did it with her own money and under her own leadership. Admittedly, she hired lots of support (whole entourages in some cases) but nevertheless, the journies were hers and hers alone. I've done alot of traveling as a single woman, and even these days it takes some courage and self-reliance. I have much admiration for Isabella Bird, who went to all these far-flung places before there were all the modern conveniences and attitudes. Phenomenal woman!
The Meinertzhagen Mystery: The Life and Legend of a Colossal Fraud
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A Man who Life wasn't Big Enough to Hold
  • A history lesson and a thriller all rolled in to one.
  • A Unbelievable Mess
The Meinertzhagen Mystery: The Life and Legend of a Colossal Fraud
Brian Garfield
Manufacturer: Potomac Books Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1597970417

Book Description

Tall, handsome, charming Col. Richard Meinertzhagen (1878–1967) was an acclaimed British war hero, a secret agent, and a dean of international ornithology. His exploits inspired three biographies, movies have been based on his life, and a square in Jerusalem is dedicated to his memory. Meinertzhagen was trusted by Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben Gurion, T. E. Lawrence, Elspeth Huxley, and a great many others.

He bamboozled them all. Meinertzhagen was a fraud. Many of the adventures recorded in his celebrated diaries were imaginary, including a meeting with Hitler while he had a loaded pistol in his pocket, an attempt to rescue the Russian royal family in 1918, and a shoot-out with Arabs in Haifa when he was seventy years old. True, he was a key player in Middle Eastern events after World War I, and during the 1930s he represented Zionism's interests in negotiations with Germany. But he also set up Nazi front organizations in England, committed a half-century of major and costly scientific fraud, and -- oddly -- may have been innocent of many killings to which he confessed (e.g., the murder of his own polo groom -- a crime of which he cheerfully boasted, although the evidence suggests it never occurred at all), while he may have been guilty of at least one homicide of which he professed innocence.

A compelling read about a flamboyant rogue, The Meinertzhagen Mystery shows how recorded history reflects not what happened, but what we believe happened.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Man who Life wasn't Big Enough to Hold.......2007-07-20

Richard Meinertzhagen was a military hero, explorer, spy, friend of Israel, diarist, world renown Ornithologist and prevaricator. Unlike most people, he reveled in the lies that he told and the reactions of those he told them to. He left an 82 volume library of his 'life', much of which was wishful thinking or down right false, but like Dr.Goebbels he believed that if you tell "The Big Lie" forceful enough and long enough, people will begin to believe.

Why would a man who was respected as a world class ornithologist, get himself barred from the British Museum for stealing? Was it for the notoriety? Having re-written his diaries (in some cases many times) and destroying all the previous versions, did he want to be caught after his death? Like publicity, being remembered, whether for good or bad, is still being remembered.

Garfield, who admits the man was one of his heroes as a child, spends a lot of time trying to find back-up information to prove RMs tales. But the more his digs, the more his finds that it like digging a hole in the dessert, it buries you. When RM writes that he did so-and-so, Garfield is able to find that not only wasn't he involved, but that RM might not have even been anywhere in the area (much less on the same continent) when the event occurred.

Ian Fleming had written that RM was the archetype for "James Bond". He could not have known how right he was in basing his fictional spy on a real-life falsified spy. The sad part is, had RM just written about his real accomplishments, his story would still be one of an outstanding personality; it just wasn't outstanding enough for him.

5 out of 5 stars A history lesson and a thriller all rolled in to one........2007-03-29

Col. Richard Meinertzhagen's exploits are those of either the greatest and most daring man ever to wear a British Military Uniform, or that of the most whopping fraud to walk the earth. Excellent research and a great read.

5 out of 5 stars A Unbelievable Mess.......2007-03-17

Brian Garfield is a supurb writer. It doesn't matter if he is writing fiction (Death Wish, the book behind the Charles Bronson movie), military history (The Thousand-Mile War about the part of World War II in the Aleutians), or a non-fiction book like The Meinertzhagen Mystery. His writing style is captivating and even otherwise dull subjects come alive. Any book is highly recommended.

Col. Richard Meinertzhagen left a history of heroic deeds so dramatic that he was used as the model for Ian Fleming's 'James Bond.' Or at least it is so rumored. His diaries are full of stories so outrageous that you'd think they have to be made up.

It turns out that most of them now appear to have been made up indeed. The difficulty is to split out what is true from what is false. And then we need look at what historians have reported as fact based on what is now seen to be false. It's enough to make you wonder about all of history.
A Photographic Field Guide: Birds of Britain and Europe (Photographic Field Guide of Britain and Europe Series)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    A Photographic Field Guide: Birds of Britain and Europe (Photographic Field Guide of Britain and Europe Series)
    Jim Flegg , and David Hosking
    Manufacturer: New Holland Publishers, Ltd.
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    GeneralGeneral | World | History | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 1853682632
    Travels with My Chicken: A Man and His Companion Take to the Road
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Really not much of a story
    • A+
    • Three and a half stars....
    • A fun story
    Travels with My Chicken: A Man and His Companion Take to the Road
    Martin Gurdon
    Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    BirdsBirds | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 1592287786

    Customer Reviews:

    2 out of 5 stars Really not much of a story.......2007-06-08

    I was looking forward to an adventure story, an odyssey, but instead, even though the writing is clever and good, it consists of endless descriptions of people I don't care about and very little "story." I got bored and put it away after 25 pages or so.

    5 out of 5 stars A+.......2006-10-20

    Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (08/06)

    Martin Gurdon is a hilariously funny man. His, is the typical dry humor that our British cousins are noted for. Martin lives in rural Kent, England with his wife Jane, a dog named Hoover, cat called Mollie and Sven, Egghead, Aloe, Vera, Tikka, Anne, Meringue, Brahms, Liszt, and Peeping, their ten chickens. Peeping chicken is Martins travel companion in "Travels with My Chicken."

    "Travels with My Chicken" is a compelling tale of the humorous antics of a man and his beloved feathered friend and travel companion. Martin begins by explaining that this book "Travels with My Chicken" is actually a story about how he traveled about the countryside promoting his first book "Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance." The antics of that journey and all the unbelievable things that happened to him and Peeping are told here. Such things as the television studio interview, the photo opportunity at the book signing and many other hilariously funny situations-- one of my personal favorites was the Café' incident. Martin actually referred to the potatoes as French Fries rather than Chips, as I would have expected. In this Bookstore/Café' Martin encounters Teenagers from the city that had never known anything about chickens. The questions put to Martin were so genuinely naive and very funny.

    Midway through his travels, Martin has to return poor Peeping to the flock because the poor thing just got so stressed out. He continues the journey with Vera, a very well behaved hen. Vera accompanied Martin to a Writer's Workshop and wound up making her debut at a minimal security prison. Then on to the high tech Henhouse (a modern-day design by some art college students). Here Vera had the opportunity to road test this creation. Many miles and many comical antics later, Martin wraps up his journey with this thought, "Why had I done it? Fun. The whole thing had been a blast."

    That's what I thought of this tremendously funny journal also. "Travels with My Chicken" is a book you can read in a night. It is fast moving and drew me in from the first chapter. If it is just silly fun reading for entertainment (not answers to the world hunger crisis) that you are looking for, then "Travels with My Chicken" is the book for you. I give it my highest and funniest A+ rating.

    3 out of 5 stars Three and a half stars...........2006-09-30

    I added this book to my library after I read Martin Gurdon's previous book "Hen and the Art of Chicken Mainteince". Basically, this book is all about Mr. Gurdon's shamelessly promoting his first book with the help of his chickens Peeping Chicken and Vera. He makes several different road trips encountering some very strange (and sometimes very moronic people) and a few kind ones along the way.

    "Travels with my Chicken" is less about the chicken and more about the people he meets along the way. Which I found very disappointing. It wasn't as fast moving or as heartwarming as his last book. Tho, there were still a few touching parts. Still a good read.

    Also, if you don't like cursing or passages about "getting wasted" you might want to skip this one. It's not for young kids.

    5 out of 5 stars A fun story.......2006-05-26

    If Martin Gurdon's name sounds familiar, perhaps it's because his previous HEN AND THE ART OF CHICKEN MAINTENANCE elevated he and his fowl to fame as they wrote of their experiences together. Their decision to embark on a one-man, one-bird tour from southeast England to Edinburgh comes alive in TRAVELS WITH MY CHICKEN, a fun story of encounters along the way. Travel with chicken brings you in touch with a host of people you might not ordinarily meet: kids, chicken-lovers, and the curious. His lively vignette proves compelling and easy to read.

    Diane C. Donovan, Editor
    California Bookwatch
    John Gould's Birds
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      John Gould's Birds

      Manufacturer: Book Sales, Inc. (Chartwell Books, Inc.)
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

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      ASIN: 1555211526
      A Field Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe (Peterson Field Guide)
      Average customer rating: 2 out of 5 stars
      • Good book, not the best organization.
      A Field Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe (Peterson Field Guide)
      Roger Tory Peterson Institute , Guy Mountfort , and P. A. D. Hollom
      Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      2. Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe
      3. The Complete Guide to the Birds of Europe The Complete Guide to the Birds of Europe
      4. Where to Watch Birds in Europe and Russia Where to Watch Birds in Europe and Russia
      5. Birds of Britain and Europe (Michelin Green Guides) Birds of Britain and Europe (Michelin Green Guides)

      ASIN: 0395669227

      Book Description

      With 364 range maps and 96 color plates portraying 548 species, this is the classic field guide to European birds. Covering 698 species, the descriptive text includes information on geographical races, vagrants, and introduced species. Confusing species such as waders, raptors, and warblers have additional notes on how to distinguish them.

      Customer Reviews:

      2 out of 5 stars Good book, not the best organization........1999-10-14

      I found this book to be informative as a guide to what I would find in Europe, but it received a poor grade in the field due to the poor organization. I had to flip through three sections to find a picture, description, and range-map for each bird. The maps were really too small for a US native to be able to tell which country was which, and the illustrations were consistantly exagerated to the point that you could only identify the so-called important features (which often were the same as important features of other birds) were all you could be certain were accurate to some extent. Even though I don't speak German, I actually found a book in German which was more useful to me than Peterson's. The German book, entitled GU Naturfuhrer "Vogel" (Birds), had accurate photos of every bird I saw on my trip. The maps in Vogel, although lacking lines seperating the countries, were much more identifiable to an American due mainly to size. After identifying the birds by the photos, I compared the scientific names to Peterson's, and was able to identify the birds with their English names (although usually the pictures in Peterson's looked nothing like those in "Vogel"). So as a field guide, Peterson's gets no stars, but for the descriptions and scientific names, it deserves a little credit.
      The Cottage Garden
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • Full of Details
      The Cottage Garden
      Christopher Lloyd , Richard Bird , and Jacqui Hurst
      Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

      LandscapeLandscape | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
      Garden DesignGarden Design | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
      Small Homes & CottagesSmall Homes & Cottages | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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      1. English Cottage Gardening: For American Gardeners, Revised Edition English Cottage Gardening: For American Gardeners, Revised Edition
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      ASIN: 0131812319

      Amazon.com

      Cottage gardens are popular in North America for their abundant informality, but British gardener Christopher Lloyd reminds us that a working cottage garden isn't all hollyhocks and lamb's ears. In its Old World origins, it served many purposes: as vegetable patch, cutting garden, and a place to sit in the cool of the evening. "It has evolved through common sense, combines need with enjoyment and is entirely unpretentious." The Cottage Garden, by Lloyd and photographer Richard Bird, is an homage to this centuries-old style that allows a multitude of plants to flourish in a small space, with a minimum, if crucial, amount of control exerted by the gardener.

      Lloyd's introduction is a brisk examination of the cottage garden tradition, after which he describes a large number of cottage garden plants. Happily for North American gardeners, these include plants that are commonly found outside of Great Britain as well as those that have been in the English cottage garden for centuries. A chapter on cottage garden features addresses hedges, waterways and ponds, garden furnishings, and outbuildings. The book's final two chapters are "Planning the Cottage Garden," with several different layouts emphasizing different types of plants, and "The Working Cottage Garden," which offers details for tending the garden through the seasons and using its produce. Some of these seem rather deliberately quaint, such as the recipes for parsnip wine, mead, and pickled eggs. But overall, Richard Bird's serenely intimate photography and Lloyd's affable, opinionated erudition make The Cottage Garden a book to linger over. It's a pleasant addition to the lush DK Living series, which includes other notable gardening titles, such as Anna Pavord's The New Kitchen Garden and Pippa Greenwood's The New Gardener. --Barrie Trinkle

      Book Description

      Christopher Lloyd's evocative presentation of the development of the cottage garden, from humble vegetable patch to lush flower garden.

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars Full of Details.......2001-01-23

      This book covers many topics related to the traditional English cottage garden without alienating the modern gardener. There are a great many color photographs which include overall garden shots and pictures of individual traditional cottage garden favorites, many of which are easily available in the U.S. There are also many color drawings with various cottage garden designs (aerial views) including the traditional cottage garden with primarily vegetables, a garden with fruits and vegetables and flowers, and flowers only and flowers and vines.

      The book is well organized and is both charming and useful. If you are very visual you won't be disappointed with the combination of pictures and drawings.

      The end of the book contains information on what garden tasks can and should be completed during the four seasons, and how to accomplish them, including a brief section on pruning. There is also a section included in this part of the book which gives traditional recipes and ideas about how to use the bounty from your garden, including dandelion wine, and mead. This book is a good read and there is plenty to return to again and again.

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