Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America

Book Description

Meticulously researched and illustrated with color photographs, Insects is a landmark reference book that is ideal for any naturalist or entomologist. To enhance exact identification of insects, the photographs in this encyclopedic reference were taken in the field -- and are not pinned specimens.

Insects enables readers to identify most insects quickly and accurately. The more than 50 pages of picture keys lead to the appropriate chapter and specific photos to confirm identification. The keys are surprisingly comprehensive and easy for non-specialists to use.

Insects features:

Detailed chapters covering all insect orders and the insect families of eastern North America
A brief examination of common families of related terrestrial arthropods
4,000 color photographs illustrating typical behaviors and key characteristics
28 picture keys for quick and accurate insect identification
Three indexes -- common family names, photographs, general index
Expert guidance on observing, collecting and photographing insects.

Almost 80 percent of all named animal species are insects and closely related arthropods. This book is required reading for anyone interested in entomology.

Customer Reviews:

Great for Novice and Advanced Entomologists Alike.......2007-09-06

The descriptions of each insect family and the many color photos of representatives of each family are interesting and memorable. This book gave me a fun overview of most insect families, and has a nice picture key that is much easier to use than conventional keys. I am a novice to insects, but as I learn more and more, I have no doubt that I will continue turning back to this book with its wealth of information and photos. This book is truly an intellectual gem - fun to read, and packed with interesting information. A MUST-HAVE for anyone interested in insects.

A top basic reference pick for serious science libraries........2007-05-08

Stephen A. Marshall's INSECTS: THEIR NATURAL HISTORY AND DIVERSITY isn't for the general-interest holding so much as the college-level collection catering to entomologists or students of such. Insects of Eastern North America are the focus in a jam-packed colorful reference displaying insects within their order and including notes on their introduction, habitats, coloring and more. It's the professional's solid reference to identification and habits, making it a top basic reference pick for serious science libraries.

Great Reference.......2007-05-07

My wife and I have a landscaping company and teach gardening. I have been looking for a complete book insects, not just the problem ones. This book has great pictures of the life cycle of the insect not just the adult or larve. Another great book is Garden Insects of North America by Whitney Cranshaw.

Very Happy Customer.......2007-01-09

The book arrived in a timely manner, and was in perfect (new) condition. It was purchased for a Christmas gift, the person receiving it was happy, too! It's an excellent book, well worth the price!! Lots of photographs and information to aid in identifying insects. The best part is that Amazon had this book for sale 20 to 30 dollars less than the first place I has seen it for sale.

Beautifully Photographed Book.......2007-01-04

I bought this book for my entomologist husband and was very impressed with the book.

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guides(R))

Average customer rating:

Up to the usual Peterson Field Guides standards
excellent seller and product
Wonderful
Not quite as good as the medicinal
perfect choice

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guides(R))

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides (R))
The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America
Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places
Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills: Naked into the Wilderness
A Field Guide to Wildflowers : Northeastern and North-Central North America (Peterson Field Guides)

ASIN: 039592622X

Book Description

More than 370 edible wild plants, plus 37 poisonous look-alikes, are described here, with 400 drawings and 78 color photographs showing precisely how to recognize each species. Also included are habitat descriptions, lists of plants by season, and preparation instructions for 22 different food uses.

Customer Reviews:

Up to the usual Peterson Field Guides standards.......2007-03-23

Although this book is well written and organized, I have one minor complaint...

If you are going to depend on a book to decide whether or not you can eat something without poisoning yourself, the pictures next to the plant descriptions ought to be in color rather than black and white sketches.

excellent seller and product.......2007-02-13

Item as described and received in a timely manner... an excellent buying experience!

Wonderful.......2007-01-10

This is a very comprehensive book that I am learning much from. It is exhaustive in showing edible plants, many that I didnt realize.

Not quite as good as the medicinal.......2006-08-17

The pictures aren't good enough to make identification easy. Good information if you have another book to identify the plants with.

perfect choice.......2005-09-13

As usual the Petersen Guide did not disappoint me. It's exactly what I wanted for plant identification

A Natural History of Trees: of Eastern and Central North America

Average customer rating:

Roots: A Biography of Trees
Clearly the best overall book on trees...
A great book for tree lovers
Fantastic!!Fantastic!!Fantastic!!
The essential reference

A Natural History of Trees: of Eastern and Central North America
Donald Peattie
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Trees | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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A Natural History of Western Trees
Flowering Earth
The Book of Forest and Thicket: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America
Trees: Their Natural History
A Natural History of North American Trees

ASIN: 0395581745

Book Description

One of two genuine classics of American nature writing now in paperback; the other is A Natural History of Western Trees.

Customer Reviews:

Roots: A Biography of Trees.......2006-06-19

What an extraordinary book. You might not think it possible, but this book about trees reads like fine literature. It is full of stories, legends, and facts about these giants in the earth, not to mention the author's interesting ruminations. Here's a sample of Peattie's writing on the bur oak, after the pages devoted to its Latin name, range, characteristics, and the like: "[W]hen we are gone the rippling fox squirrels and the jeering crows will not remember us; the big dull yellow leaves of the Bur Oaks will cover the paths of our autumns. But these same trees will see our children and our children's children, and look to them the mansions that they are."

Wonderful stuff. In addition to all this the book is chockablock with anecdotes of specific trees and their histories, and how our forefathers and the American Indian viewed the various types of trees. Tree lover or not, you'll enjoy this book.

Clearly the best overall book on trees..........2002-07-03

This book and its companion volume, "A Natural History of Western Trees," are by far the most detailed accounts of the trees of North America. It's truly too bad the author didn't have the chance to complete the third book in this series: "Southern Trees." Never have I read a richer, more lovingly or enthusiastically written description of trees. Aside from being packed with facts, the books offer a glimpse of man's interaction with trees and teaches one how to interact with them and respect them. The author's enthusiasm is contagious!

A great book for tree lovers.......2002-02-12

This is a great book for tree lovers.Though not very good for identification(one of the field guides would be better for that),this is an excellent book for the reader who has already learned to identify the various trees and now wants to learn something about them.The short,non-technical articles cover a host of topics,from botany and historical reports to the author's personal acquaintance with the various trees discussed.

Fantastic!!Fantastic!!Fantastic!!.......2001-09-19

A Natural History of Trees is a compilation of a rich resource of material on native U.S. Trees. While you'll do better with a Peterson's Field Guide for identification, I don't think you'll find more fun.

Grouped by Family(beginning with Pines and ending with the Ashes) the stories are king here. Just pick your favorite tree and sit back and enjoy. The history of the White Pine, for example, seems almost mythic in its sheer height and size back in colonial days. It very well helped build near most of colonial America, too!

From White Pine to White Oak to Redbud to Sycamore, this is a fascinating and informative read. There is an index of both scientific and common names, plus a glossary and a section called Keys to Species and Genera (which is much easier to decode with a Peterson's Guide at hand).

Also recommended, Petrerson's Field Guide to Eastern Trees(ISBN: 0395904552) and National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees(ISBN: 0394507606) for IDing and Trees in my Forest(ISBN: 0060929421) and the Man Who Planted Trees(ISBN: 1570625387) for more great stories.

The essential reference.......2000-06-17

This is the essential book for anyone who cares for the trees and forests of the USA. The writer has a talent, unmatched as far as I know, to spin a tale on trees, bringing to life not only the trees of North America but also the people who walked among them.

It also is an essential book for anyone interested in the history of the USA. Fittingly the book starts off with a description of white pine and the birth of what is now the USA. In short anyone who claims to care for trees or to be interested in how the USA came to be and who is not familiar with the contents of this book is in serious danger of appearing to be a charlatan.

[Quality of the reprint could be better; actually this book deserves to be in hardcover. However, the quality of the reprint could also be a lot worse, or -horrible thought!- the book might go out of print altogether]

A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs: Northeastern and north-central United States and southeastern and south-centralCanada (Peterson Field Guides(R))
Average customer rating:

Learn to love trees! Or learn about the trees you love.

the one

Best for field work

Worthy of the Name

Definitive work for identification

A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs: Northeastern and north-central United States and southeastern and south-centralCanada (Peterson Field Guides(R))

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

A Field Guide to Wildflowers : Northeastern and North-Central North America (Peterson Field Guides)

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide

A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America

A Field Guide to Eastern Trees (Peterson Field Guides)

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guides(R))

ASIN: 039535370X

Book Description

All the wild trees, shrubs, and woody vines in the area north to Newfoundland, south to North Carolina and Tennessee, and west to the Dakotas and Kansas are described in detail. Accounts of 646 species include shape and arrangement of leaves, height, color, bark texture, flowering season, and fruit. Clear, accurate drawings illustrate leaves, flowers, buds, tree silhouettes, and other characteristics.

Customer Reviews:

Learn to love trees! Or learn about the trees you love........2007-10-17

This is an wonderful guide to trees and one of the few that also includes shrubs. The format of keys and plates is very clear and an excellent introduction to the use of taxonomic keys.

the one.......2002-08-01

No mere Peterson field guide, this scholarly work is a concise encyclopedia of all the trees native to the northeastern United States, with descriptions that can truly be used to tell them apart (a unique feat). Belongs in the backpack of any hiker who wants to learn trees. Fits in a half-gallon Ziploc. Remember you need a magnifying glass and a sharp knife to use the book properly.

Best for field work.......2002-03-17

As a wetland delineator in PA, this book proves invaluable for field identification of trees, shrubs, and vines. Especially useful is are the keys for identification of these plants in winter when leaves and fruiting bodies are non-existant. I have several other tree books for reference, but they rarely are worth carting along in the field now that I have this book. I highly recommend it.

Worthy of the Name.......2001-08-03

Follows the fine tradition of Peterson Field Guides. Enough said.

Definitive work for identification.......1999-09-22

Petrides' work is the most accurate I have found in tree identification. Color pictures are no substitute for a close-up examination of the stems, leaves and fruit of trees and shrubs. It is considered the definitive source for the John Burroughs Naturalist Award bestowed by the Buckeye Council of the Boy Scouts of America only upon those capable of sight identification of approximately 600 trees, shrubs and wildflowers.

Average customer rating:

Great Book!
A Nice Conceit
Challenge Achieved with Grace
I normally hesitate to use this word, but...profound.
Old fashioned and wonderful

Chased By The Light

Manufacturer: Northword Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Looking for the Summer
Chased By The Light DVD - A Video Journey With Jim Brandenburg
To the Top of the World: Adventures With Arctic Wolves
Fine Art Photography: Water, Ice and Fog
Working the Light: A Landscape Photography Masterclass (Landscape Photography Mastercl)

ASIN: 1559716711

Book Description

Renowned nature photographer Jim Brandenburg gave himself a challenge: for ninety days between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, he would make only one photograph a day. As his shutter opened and closed on that first day, his 90-day journey began. This exquisite book is the result of that bold and immensely personal project.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!.......2007-08-31

If you haven't seen the DVD (Public TV?) program of this project, you should-great insights into what Brandenburg was after as a photographer-the great and the struggles. WOnderful book and photos!

A Nice Conceit.......2004-11-29

It's a nice conceit. A great outdoor photographer sets for himself the task to taking one, but only one, photograph each and every day for an entire season.

One can see all kinds of implications. Once the photographer finds a subject he must get it right the first time because he isn't allowed a second chance. Exposure, focus, composition - everything must be right and as good as he can get it. Moreover he is continually in peril. Should he pass by a good shot in the morning in expectation of a better shot in the afternoon? And what happens when no better shot is in the camera as sunset approaches? We can easily believe Jim Brandenburg when he says that the exercise was a transforming experience.

But the question for viewers of this book is whether the pictures are a transforming experience for us. Unfortunately, they were not for me.

I understand that some of the pictures were bound to be underexposed or out of focus. Plants blow in the wind; animals move. But while I examined the photographs in this book, I also looked at other work by Brandenburg. These other collections were always quite impressive, providing new ways of looking at the world. Many of the pictures in "Chased by the Light" showed a keen sensibility for the light. The silhouettes of loons and a small island with trees against the backlight of a clouded dawn were breathtaking. The photograph of a raven's feather against a lichen background with a few beaded drops of water on the feather caught my eye.

But for every great photograph, there was one that was pedestrian and one that was discardable. I certainly didn't need to see an out-of-focus mink or trees in the forest with no true subject.

To be fair to Brandenburg, this project was apparently not undertaken for publication but rather as an exercise for his own development. It was his editor who wanted to publish after seeing the photographs. To the editor's eye, at least, the pictures were enlightening and well worth the effort.

The greatest value of this book was not in the photographs but in the speculation in which I engaged about why this book was not outstanding. Is photography a stochastic process with each photograph taken possibly leading to an even greater photograph? Did forcing himself to elect when to take his daily picture cause Brandenburg to sacrifice opportunities, or even limit his willingness to take risks. Does the order of presentation of photographs have synergistic effects, which were lost, because this book almost demanded only chronological order? Does forcing the viewer to look at pictures that would otherwise be discards detract from the impact of good pictures?

For me this book was conceptual art. I found the idea of the task transformed my view of photography. The pictures themselves did not.

Challenge Achieved with Grace.......2004-05-17

I gave this book to my parents several years ago and still leaf slowly through its pages whenever visiting their home in northern Minnesota. For amateurs and professionals alike, his is a fascinating photographic concept: your own property? a favorite park? your family? or pet? a holiday?

I normally hesitate to use this word, but...profound........2002-07-09

I'm a verbal type; I'd rather read a beautifully written description of a frozen lake than stare at a picture of it anytime. Even knowing that, my mother gave me this book several years ago, and I fell in love. I sat with it for hours, seeing, dreaming, and I still take it down often to do the same again. The photographer, Jim Brandenburg, set himself the challenge of taking only one photograph each day for three months, in the boreal forest where he makes his home. The result is a portrait of life as many of us can never experience it: not just "calendar shots," but pictures that show the cruelty of man, the certainty of death, the very simple beauty of a single bright leaf burning on the dark, still waters of an evening pond. Some photos are amazing in themselves and some seem ordinary in the extreme, but it is important to take them as a whole, and see what you learn from the journey.

Old fashioned and wonderful.......2002-05-30

It's so more agreable to have this engagement calendar on your desk than a modern and dull looking electronic device. Use an old fountain pen to take your notes, and wait till the ink is dry before turning the page! Wonderful pictures under your eyes every day of the year! You can escape and image yourself so far from the busy and noisy modern world. I'm waiting for the 2003 edition.

Nature and the English Diaspora: Environment and History in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (Studies in Environment and History)

Average customer rating:

My dad wrote this book.
My dad wrote this book.

Nature and the English Diaspora: Environment and History in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (Studies in Environment and History)
Thomas Dunlap
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World (Global Century Series)
Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s (Galaxy Books)
Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America

ASIN: 0521657008

Book Description

This book is a comparative history of the development of ideas about nature, particularly of the importance of native nature in the Anglo settler countries of the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It examines the development of natural history, settlers' adaptations to the end of expansion, scientists' shift from natural history to ecology, and the rise of environmentalism. Addressing not only scientific knowledge but also popular issues from hunting to landscape painting, this book explores the ways in which English-speaking settlers looked at nature in their new lands.

Customer Reviews:

My dad wrote this book........2000-05-15

...and it's dedicated to me, so I kind of had to read it. Still, I'm glad I did. It was more interesting than I expected, discussing the evolution of settlers to being "native" to North America and the Antipodes. About a chapter into it, I stopped reading out of fillial duty, and kept going because I was interested. (How could I resist the events on-board the H.M.S. Bounty being described as "a crisis in labor relations"?)

Now, I'm going to have to read his other books. So, in my unbiased opinion, buy lots of copies so that I can go to grad school.

My dad wrote this book........2000-05-15

Customer Reviews:

Good comparative study of US and Canadian national parks.......2007-08-07

This book examines national parks in the United States and Canada, two neighboring countries with extensive park systems. Clearly each of these countries can learn from the other's experience, and Lowry's book is an excellent introduction to the similarities and differences in the two park systems. He also provides extensive discussion of a sampling of parks in each country, some well-known and others not well-known at all.

Lowry's central theoretical framework examines political support for the parks and the degree of consensus on the goals for parks. He treats these as if they were exogenous, independent variables. However, clearly the political economy of each country affects these goals. A pro-development agency such as the Army Corps of Engineers enjoys political consensus because it operates in a pro-development political system. It's hard to know how you could change the Corps (or many other agencies) without changing the political system as a whole.

The research and most of his writing reflects the Reagan and G. H. W. Bush administrations, which were hostile to the environment. Thus, his book casts US politics as generally "bad," while Canadian policies are generally "good." However - - as he realizes - - the history of the two park systems is very different, and for most of the twentieth century he would have classified Parks Canada as having worse policy than the US National Park Service.

To better understand the two countries, Lowry should distinguish more clearly between the legislative and executive factors affecting the parks. As Lowry acknowledges, Clinton's Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt had very different priorities than the Reagan and Bush administrations, yet the system of congressional pork remained unchanged. Understanding park policy means separating out changes in executives from continuities in the legislature. Moving outside his framework of consensus and support to consider executive-legislative relations would be helpful.

Looking more closely at executive-legislative relations would also enrich his comparison of the US and Canada. Obviously, Canada's parliamentary system works very differently than the presidential system in the United States. Ironically, Lowry does discuss the differences in federalism in the two countries, though in a global perspective there are more similarities than differences between US and Canadian federalism.

Those objections aside, this is a notable book. The literature on national parks is dominated by historians, and it is welcome to have a different discipline's perspectives on the issues.

CHEERS Mr. Lowry! Yet, aren't we now in need of a sequel?.......1997-11-23

I've lived in, worked for, and studied the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) and I can confirm that Lowry has done his homework well. This book is more than just a voice crying in wilderness. Lowry not only exposes the problems, he offers very viable solutions that merely need the political support of the common man to be implimented. Unfortunately, since this book's publication things have gotten worse, especially in Canada. One of my biggest frustrations has always been that the American public doesn't know the extent to which self-serving congressional interests are ruining our national treasures by preventing the NPS from doing its congressionally mandated mission of historic and natural preservation. It's not just budget cuts folks! As Lowry explains, its mega-cooperation owned concessions exploiting visitors at the expense of the very ecological health of parks in the name of "visitor services." It's scientific research intentionally poorly funded and results ignored, or worse yet, severely censored before they are allowed to be released to the general public. And it's all here, well documented in "The Capacity for Wonder" including scores of interviews with rangers from all over the continent who haven't given up... yet. This book is for all of us rangers who dare not speak because we have to feed our families, and for all you voters and tax payers who do "GIVE A DAMN!" but until now, just don't quite have enough accurate information to act.

The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's Forgotten Coast

Average customer rating:

Unique book and the Great Bear continues to be threatened
Wow. An amazing book about an amazing place.
A Unique Journey AND A Desperate Plea
A must of bear lovers, intersting facts, great photos
Keep sacred places secret while we can

The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's Forgotten Coast
Ian McAllister , Karen McAllister , and Cameron Young
Manufacturer: Sierra Club Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Rain Forests | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

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Tropical | Ecosystems | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1578050111

Customer Reviews:

Unique book and the Great Bear continues to be threatened.......2006-12-12

This is fantastic book. The threats to the Great Bear Rainforest are increasing in 2007 and support is vitally needed. To see what is happening, go to the Raincoast Conservation Society web page and see what major threats to the Great Bear are coming in 2007.

Wow. An amazing book about an amazing place........2005-07-18

For years, I had always heard snippets here and there about the Great Bear Rainforest of Northwestern British Columbia, supposedly even more beautiful, wild, untamed, and much larger than other gorgeous temperate rainforest locales like Olympic National Park in Washington. But I didn't really know much about it. Where exactly was it? What does it look like? Is any of it protected in province or federal park land? And many more questions.

Then, years later, I stumbled upon this book. WOW. That about sums it up. This is an amazing book about a place of transcendent, almost ethereal beauty. This book is an enchanting mix of imminently readable and interesting text and absolutely stunning photographs. It almost makes you feel like you are there, immersed in this incredible rain drenched emerald cathedral of trees.

The Great Bear Rainforest is located on the British Columbia coast. It starts a few miles north of Lund and extends all the way north in Canada to the BC's northernmost limit, around Port Rupert, and extends only a few miles inland. It is home to the largest remaining contiguous temperate rain forest anywhere in the world. You probably already know this, but a temperate rain forest is much different than a tropical rain forest because of climate. Temperate rain forests are cool and moist, whereas tropical ones are hot and moist. Anyway, enough of the obvious.

What I really like about this book is that it isn't a condescending piece of fluff, and it gave me *exactly* what I wanted from it. Even though it's no easily readable, it is no fluff piece that waxes prettily poetic but doesn't really tell you anything. It takes you on an incredibly detailed tour of nearly every major rain forest valley in the Great Bear Rainforest. And it doesn't just name-drop valleys that have no meaning to you, it provides you with maps that show exactly where it is that they are talking about. I think this is the greatest feature of the book, I've read too many books about geographical places that tell you the names of certain interesting areas, but you don't quite know where they are. Not so with this book.

Not only that, the book covers a wide range of topics concerning The Great Bear Rainforest. Ecology, economic pressures, animal and plant life, geography, even a lot of interesting history and contemporary issues concerning the First Nation (who we in the U.S. refer to as Native American) tribes who traditionally lived (and still live) in and around the Great Bear Rainforest. I found the parts about the Haida tribe to be particularly edifying. All of these facts and themes are woven into the narrative of the authors' journey through the Great Bear Rainforest (which spans many years) incredibly seamlessly - you might think it's difficult to talk about the flora and fauna of the area while giving a history lesson on the Tlinglit people, but like I said, this point interweaves all points flawlessly. It also does social justice by presenting an unflinching look at the environmental horrors that await the Great Bear Rainforest through resource extraction and recreation at the hands of an apathetic public if current trends remain unchecked.

And then there are the photos. Gorgeous. Vast stands of huge, majestic trees, so much green it's almost blinding; a spirit bear chowing down on salmon in an unbelievable action shot; stunning shots of a coastline where fjord and mountain come together; and of course, the grand British Columbia ocean itself.

This book is a real gem. It's crime more people haven't had a chance to go through it. Read it. Take your time, don't just skim through it and goggle over the pictures. Trust me, the time will be worth it, you'll be glad you did. A must-have for anyone who considers themselves an environmentalist, a nature lover, and especially for people who have stood in awe in a temperate rain forest and said "I need to know more."

A Unique Journey AND A Desperate Plea.......2000-12-27

This book is written as a journal of a sailing voyage. Although the authors had previously visited the remarkable areas they photograph and describe six times before, the seventh visit is chronicled in these pages. Thus there is a great depth of knowledge and experience inherent to this work which transforms a simple if elegant journal into a powerful, somewhat doleful, environmental monograph.

This is a beautifully done book with many fascinating photographs of rainforest topography and the diverse life forms which abide therein. The accompanying text is well-written and consistently informative and interesting. But the overarching theme here is that pristine environments which are critical to the survival of untold species of flora and fauna are in jeopardy. Grave jeopardy. Moreover, the McAllisters take great pains to point out that the small islands of preserved and protected ecosystem created in compromise between commercial interests and environmentalists are insufficent to protect wildlife (bears, for example) that depend upon an interlinked vastness of unspoiled terrain in which to flourish.

So this book is as much an alarm and a plea for action as it is a wondrous presentation of its picturesque subject matter. As such, it is urgent reading for those of us concerned about the ravages unleashed when a society values short-term economic advantage (as when untouched river valleys are clear-cut by logging companies) over the work nature takes eons to complete.

A must of bear lovers, intersting facts, great photos.......2000-05-02

This is a wonderful book for both nature and bear lovers alike. It is packed with beautiful color photos. Many interesting facts about the wildlife & plants of the area are detailed in the captions.

The landscape photos feature vibrant wildflowers, ancient forests, & mountains. There are also many remarkable pictures of several bear types. I loved the close-up shot of a bear eating a fish & another of a sprit bear on a log.

Stunning photos of some other animals include a puffin close-up, a bald eagle mother with baby, & an elephant seal gathering. If you can tear yourself away from the pictures, the text is equally impressive.

The authors tell of their experiences while exploring the rainforest. They also discusses the environmental concerns of the area. Journal entries from the trip are scatted throughout the book.

Keep sacred places secret while we can.......2000-02-01

A powerful book on this special place. But, now she's discovered

A Natural History of North American Trees

Average customer rating:

Beautifully written

A Natural History of North American Trees
Donald Culross Peattie
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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A Natural History of Western Trees
Flowering Earth
The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter
The Songs of Insects
Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Headaches: And Other Answers to Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask

ASIN: 0618799044

Book Description

â€œA volume for a lifetimeâ€ is how The New Yorker described the first of Donald Culross Peattieâ€™s two great classics, referred to elsewhere as â€œthe most eloquent, informative, and entertaining books ever written about the trees of North America.â€ The result is a picture of life in America from its earliest days to the middle of the last century. The information is always interesting, but it often is heartbreaking as well. While Peattie looks for the better side of manâ€™s nature, he reports sorrowfully on the greed and waste that has doomed so much of Americaâ€™s virgin forests. No one will read this book without the occasional lump in the throat. More than one hundred of the original, stunning black-and-white illustrations by Paul Landacre make this a visual as well as a literary treat.

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully written.......2007-07-19

This is a lovely book written in the best spirit of natural history. It contains brief (1-5 page) entries on most of the common trees of eastern North America. It is filled with fascinating information about their biology, ecology, and social impact. The best thing about the book however, is Peattie's writing style. You can tell how much he loves these trees simply by the way he writes about them.

Average customer rating:

Big Sky
It's a personal celebration of the American West

Big Sky: Wild West Panorama

Manufacturer: Firefly Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Still Life | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books
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The World's Wild Places
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ASIN: 1554071763

Book Description

A personal celebration of the American West by one of its finest photographers and authors.

Distilled from more than two decades of exploration, Tim Fitzharris' Big Sky captures beautiful panoramas rarely matched in majesty and diversity. Big Sky includes tinted canyons, cactus-studded deserts, ice-capped mountains, rumpled badlands, the misty beaches of the Pacific and a limitless expanse of prairie wildflowers. These are images that reflect the still heart of America's native wilderness.

Fitzharris opens Big Sky with personal observations on photographing the American West and then presents a retrospective of his photographs, organized by region:

High Plains
Canyon lands
Rocky Mountains
Sierra Nevada
Southern deserts
Pacific coast.

For each of these six sections there is an introduction to the landscape, followed by 12 plates for a total of 72 panoramas.

Stunning and beautiful, Big Sky is a lovingly compiled collection of remarkable panorama photographs of this vast section of the nation. This will be Tim Fitzharris' definitive work, demonstrating his reverence and respect for the American West.

Customer Reviews:

Big Sky.......2007-06-09

Gorgeous book. Almost like being there as we read. Enjoying it now and

will for years to come.

It's a personal celebration of the American West.......2007-04-12

BIG SKY captures some gorgeous panoramas, capturing natural landscapes and tinting to explore some of the lesser-known state parks and wilderness areas across the country. It's a personal celebration of the American West by a photographer who spent over twenty years searching for just the right sites and experiences: when one was found he'd take a series of panoramic shots and stitch them together on a computer, here produced in panoramic 27x9 inch spreads to properly capture the results. Art photography libraries as well as public libraries strong in visual travel representations will want this.

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