Florida's Fabulous Trees

Customer Reviews:

Not just for Floridians.......2004-10-26

This slim (64 pages), oversize book is crowded with photos of flowering Southern trees and a wide variety of palms. It would be better if it included a full picture of a tree showing it's growth pattern and not just pictures of the flowers or seeds. It is more inclusive for the palms, showing full-length photos besides the leaves.
It is indexed inside the back cover. The descriptions are interesting, telling some of the growth habits, and uses of each tree. One problem arises when 3 or 4 trees are shown on one page; it is difficult to tell which block of text matches which photo.
Overall, a useful and fairly comprehensive photo album of Florida's trees, filled with lovely, colorful pictures.

Florida's Fabulous Trees.......2003-11-12

This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn to identify the different trees common to Florida. I got this book when I bought a house and started thinking about landscaping, and wanted to be able to identify trees around here. Great photos, helpful text, I would definitely recommend it.

Really great pictures.......2003-04-22

This book has really great pictures in glorious color. That is just about all that can be said for or about this book.

The text is so-so: The worst offense appears (p43) "bansai trees" where they mean "bonzai trees", but the rest of the text is not nearly that bad. For a book on trees there are remarkably few trees in it. Something like half the book is palms.

The oversized pages make this a somewhat clumsy book. But the pictures are really, really great!

Great Picture Book.......2003-02-01

This is a great photo guide to Florida's trees. I wanted to identify some of the trees that we see on our annual vacations to Florida over the years and this book did the trick. It's not a technical horticultural guide but just a book with lots of pictures of hundreds of different species with foliage, flowers, shape, color and anything else you need to sucessfully identify tropical trees.

The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide (Reference and Field Guides) (Reference and Field Guides)

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Review of "The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide"

The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide (Reference and Field Guides) (Reference and Field Guides)
Gil Nelson
Manufacturer: Pineapple Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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

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

ASIN: 1561640557

Product Description

First comprehensive guide to Florida's amazing variety of trees, both natives and exotics, from scrub oak to mangroves, from bald cypress and gumbo limbo, from sabal palm to the Florida yew. Serves as both a reference and a field guide. Includes suggested field sites for observing the species described. Color photos were color is important in identification, as well as line drawings. Useful to the naturalist, professional botanist, landscape architect, and weekend gardener.

Customer Reviews:

Review of "The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide".......2005-08-07

The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide - is a wonderful book. I can now identify the trees in my area. Great color photos and logical design. Very helpful.

North American Trees: Exclusive of Mexico and Tropical Florida

Average customer rating:

5th edition
Wildly overpriced
Very useful!

North American Trees: Exclusive of Mexico and Tropical Florida
Richard J. Jr. Preston
Manufacturer: Iowa State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0813811724

Customer Reviews:

5th edition.......2004-06-24

The 5th edition has seen a complete revision of the illustrations, which all were replaced by a better grade of line-drawings. This makes for a much more likable book.

Wildly overpriced.......2000-12-01

As a guide to the trees of N-America (exclusive of Mexico and tropical Florida) it seems obvious to compare it with Sargent's "Manual of the Trees of North America (exclusive of Mexico)", now available as a Dover-reprint. The present book appears an abbreviated and updated version of the earlier one, with distribution maps the most noticeable addition. However I find the earlier one definitely more attractive, if only because the line-drawings are so much clearer in the old book. In Preston's book the reproduction of the drawings is very black, and hence unclear.

When comparing this with the magnificent "Trees_of_Canada" by John Laird Farrar (aka "Trees_of_Northern_United_States_and_Canada") the book by Preston looks shabby indeed. The most kindly thing to be said would seem to be that this is vastly overpriced. Surely the USA can do (a lot) better than this for its trees?

Very useful!.......2000-09-03

This 400 page book is a no-nonsense identification manual for north American trees exclusive of Mexico and tropical Florida (except for 35 species of hawthorn and 16 usually shrubby willows). It is adequately illustrated by drawings and distribution maps. Most of the species are described (habit, leaves, fruit, twigs, bark, general), some of the more uncommon ones are only mentioned in the keys. Although the book claims to use language as simple as possible I can imagine that it is the botanists who come to terms with it most easily.

A real drawback can be found in one of the introductory keys (species with toothed leaves) where the identification relies heavily on fruit characters. This is no doubt scientifically accurate, but not very practical in the field. A less rigorous, user friendly approach would be preferable.

Customer Reviews:

Palms of South Florida.......2000-04-19

While an excellent and detailed explanation of the confusing world of palm botany, I have two problems with this book. 1) It contains comprehensive, detailed drawings of the trees reviewed, but not a single photo! Of course it costs a publisher more to use the type of paper that color can print on, not to mention the ink itself, but a garden book with no photographs at all?? 2) It would be most helpful for us beginners if the pronunciation and the derivation of the botanic names was listed. It's hard to remember a plants proper name when you cannot even pronounce it!

Flowering Trees for Central and South Florida Gardens

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Flowering Trees for Central and South Florida Gardens
Maxine Fortune Schuetz
Manufacturer: Seaside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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

Flowering Trees of Florida

ASIN: 0820004103

Florida Trees & Wildflowers (Pocket Naturalist - Waterford Press)

Average customer rating:

I liked it but it needs more

Florida Trees & Wildflowers (Pocket Naturalist - Waterford Press)
James Kavanagh
Manufacturer: Waterford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 1583550887

Book Description

Florida Trees & Wildflowers, An Introduction to Familiar Species, is a must-have, reference guide for beginners and experts alike. Whether you're on a nature hike or taking a stroll in your neighborhood, you'll want to take along a copy of this indispensable guide.

The Pocket Naturalist(tm) series is an introduction to common plants and animals and natural phenomena. Each pocket-sized, folding guide highlights up to 150 species and most feature a map identifying prominent sanctuaries and outstanding natural attractions. Each is laminated for durability.

Customer Reviews:

I liked it but it needs more.......2007-04-02

I liked the format (waterproof fold-out like a map) but I think it should be expanded to include a more comprehensive catalog of Florida's plants.

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Forest Trees of Florida 19th Edition
Florida Department of Agriculture& consumer services
Manufacturer: Florida Department of Agriculture
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8C2YU

Florida Plants for Wildlife: A Selection Guide to Native Trees and Shrubs

Average customer rating:

An excellent guide to providing food & cover for wildlife

Florida Plants for Wildlife: A Selection Guide to Native Trees and Shrubs
Craig Norman Huegel
Manufacturer: Florida Native Plant Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Trees | Field Guides | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1885258046

Customer Reviews:

An excellent guide to providing food & cover for wildlife.......2002-02-20

The book "Florida Plants for Wildlife" by Craig Huegel is exacly what the title says. It is an excellent guide to native Florida plants and trees. The plant descriptions are succint and easy to understand. The illustrations are helpful, however, it would have been more helpful to have color photographs insted of illustration drawings of the plants. The illustrations are fine, it is just my opinion that color photos would have been more helpful.

Book Description

"The Kendrick manuscript illustrates and fully supports the claims of many that there was and still is a lot of gold in the green . . . Cleverly elevates the value of Florida's renewable natural resources and clearly lets you see the forests and the trees. When it comes to forest history, there is simply not another work like it!"--Jeff Doran, executive vice president, Florida Forestry Association

"An excellent account of how important Florida's forests have been in providing the capital to permit exciting and rapid growth and development during the last 150 years; moreover, we're still enjoying vast increasing areas of beautiful and useful trees."--Jacob B. Huffman, University of Florida

Five hundred years ago, when Ponce de Leon landed on the shores of Florida, 27 million acres of virgin timber--chiefly longleaf, slash pine and large areas of cypress, loblolly pine, sand pine, palms, and oaks--covered the land that constitutes the state today. Of the 15 million acres now forested, 12 million are privately held. This lively, 500-year history of Florida's forests begins before the Spaniards colonized the state, when Native American tribes felled trees to build shelters and canoes, carve ritual masks and weapons, and make firewood. These tribes revered Florida's forests; they understood the dangers of wildfires set by lightning and were careful when burning underbrush to improve forage or aid in the hunt. Their closeness to nature and dependence on forests for their way of life made Native Americans Florida's first "forest managers."

Florida historian Baynard Kendrick offers first-person accounts by the people who explored, logged, reforested, and managed Florida's forests. His chapters feature correspondence from conquistadors as well as memoirs by early settlers, loggers, and mill operators whose work triggered a forest conservation movement in the 1920s. Commissioned by the Florida Board of Forestry in 1966 on the eve of the environmental era, Kendrick's manuscript--titled "Florida's Perpetual Forests"--went unpublished for four decades. Barry Walsh has picked up where Kendrick left off, making this the first book to fully document Florida's forest history through the modern day. Enlightening and accessible to a broad audience, this book will appeal to historians, conservationists, foresters, agricultural leaders, archaeologists, anthropologists, legislators, and many more.

Average customer rating:
Book of Trees - For Florida and the Subtropics
Fred Walden
Manufacturer: Great Outdoors Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
General | Trees | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Flowering Trees of Florida

ASIN: 0820004146

Book Description

This old favorite has been completely revised, with many more north Florida trees and natives. It contains over 300 line illustrations of trees seen every day in Florida's roadside plantings, parks and residential gardens. You'll recognize some of the temperate-subtropical trees shown, while others may be unfamiliar.

Book Description

The Itty Bitty Guide to Business Travel is a pocket-sized travel agent, personal organizer, and stress-reliever all in one. Perfect for the young professional, the advice in these pages covers everything a business traveler needs to know, from getting a handle on trip goals and preparing colleagues for an extended absence, to finding the best deals and making efficient use of travel time. Lists of helpful questions assist readers in determining their trip needs, and handy checklists make it easy to get out the door on time, with no last-minute panic. The perfect on-the-road companion, The Itty Bitty Guide to Business Travel gets travelers there and back again -- job well done.

Customer Reviews:

for the non-traveler.......2005-01-05

As a fairly frequent business traveler (about 1 trip/month), I got this book hoping to pick up some helpful hints to make travel a little easier. I was disappointed in the book. It seems to be aimed at those at a very junior level who need every detail spelled out ("tell your colleagues you'll be out of the office"), or who have never made a business trip before (some tips seemed aimed at people who have never been on a plane before). For someone just starting in the business world or someone starting an entry level job that requires travel, it may be useful- experienced travelers can skip it.

Amazon.com

Written in the present tense, First They Killed My Father will put you right in the midst of the action--action you'll wish had never happened. It's a tough read, but definitely a worthwhile one, and the author's personality and strength shine through on every page. Covering the years from 1975 to 1979, the story moves from the deaths of multiple family members to the forced separation of the survivors, leading ultimately to the reuniting of much of the family, followed by marriages and immigrations. The brutality seems unending--beatings, starvation, attempted rape, mental cruelty--and yet the narrator (a young girl) never stops fighting for escape and survival. Sad and courageous, her life and the lives of her young siblings provide quite a powerful example of how war can so deeply affect children--especially a war in which they are trained to be an integral part of the armed forces. For anyone interested in Cambodia's recent history, this book shares a valuable personal view of events. --Jill Lightner

Book Description

One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung's family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed.

Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.

Customer Reviews:

Everyone should make time for this book.......2007-10-08

We need this type of literature to remind us of the horror we are capable of inflicting, and the delight we are capable of inspiring. Here we have the opportunity to learn about the history of other countries and cultures and the effects of war and violence. By reading Ung's story, Americans can learn to appreciate that some immigrants and refugees to the United States have endured far more than we can even imagine.
Ung's story is told with the innocence and honesty of a child, even though her reality is riddled with hurt, grief, and despair. How is she able to survive the destruction and devastation of war? What makes her want to go on living? The chaos and randomness of life will make the reader see that each gift is a blessing.
Ung has learned to accept the responsibility that comes with survival. Why me...? What not me...? She states that by writing her book she was able to come to terms with many of the haunting details of her past. By writing about her fear and rage, she was able to face the "monsters" of her childhood as an adult. Telling her story was not about the money or the recognition, but about making people aware of what life was like for one family, for one little girl who grew up during the hell years of 1975-1979 in Cambodia. Though there is much anger and pain, it is the love of family and love of oneself that sees Ung through the trauma of war.

Captivating.......2007-10-05

With a story as tragic as this it is no wonder how the details are so vividly portrayed by Loung Ung. Her story captivates in essence the cruel and communist actions of the Khmer Rouge. As one of the few surviving family members, Loung proves how a love for her father helped her endure such a tragedy. However, she was not excluded from being subjected to the endless amount of pain, which created numerous psychological road blocks such as hatred and vengeance. This is clearly a story of heroism through endurance.

Breathtaking.......2007-08-31

I was interested in reading a book about the Cambodian Civil War, and this book gave me insights about the author's life story. The author Ung went through many emotional times with her family that had to do with survival. It made me cry many times... touched my heart. I recommend this to readers who are interested in the Cambodian war and would like to know what it's like to be in Loung Ung position during the time of chaos.

Read it with caution.......2007-08-18

The author was too young and her memories were not always reliable. Read it with caution. For instance, Ung wrote about a family trip to Angkor Wat, which took place in 1973 or 1974 when she "was only three or four years old" (p. 109). I had a discussion with a former Lon Nol soldier who was in Siem Reap at that time and he was adamant that Angkor Wat was not accessible because the Khmer Rouge was in full control of the area.

Cambodia had been fighting a civil war since 1970, so it is hard to believe that there were people vacationing at that time, especially in a region that was controlled by the Khmer Rouge. But the book contains a picture of the family trip to "Angkor Wat," which was taken at Wat Phnom, a temple in Phnom Penh.

Exaggerated stories of surviving atrocities are not unknown. It even exists within the Jewish community; for example, the story of Deli Strummer, which has been written in the Washington Post. I would compare "First They Killed My Father" to that of Holocaust survivor's Deli Strummer. If you want to read something poignant like that of Anne Frank, get Chanrithy Him's "When Broken Glass Floats."

She remembers for us to remember..........2007-05-15

In the epilogue, Loung thanks her editor, because she's says without the editing, we'd all be reading a much longer book. In this case, I would love to read "the much longer book".... I can't say enough positive about the book, even though I know it has received criticism. It's a first hand account of the same stories I've heard first hand over.. Stories that deserve to be retold so that hopefully they never have to be experienced again. Whether you are an academic with an interest in Cambodia / Southeast Asia or the casual reader, you will be haunted a young girl's life.. in " First They Killed My Father".[...]

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The love of this daughter for her father shines through

First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir
Maureen Reagan
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0316736317

Customer Reviews:

The love of this daughter for her father shines through.......2006-02-04

You're going to like this author. She writes in an easy going, light hearted style, which makes for enjoyable reading. And in telling her story, she also tells much of the story of Ronald Reagan with an insight and depth of understanding which only a Reagan family member could possess. Her memoir, then, give us, the reader, a fly-on-the-wall's view of what it was really like to be Ronald Reagan's daughter; what President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, were really like behind closed doors; how many historically important decisions were made in the privacy of the Reagan home; and what Maureen Reagan really thought about some of those who came in contact with her or her father during Reagan's years in public life. Pulling no punches, Maureen tells it like it really was and shines the light of truth on some interesting aspects of Reagan family life and some events about which many have written, but about which few have any real knowledge.

But Maureen had an interesting and challenging life and career of her own. She was the daughter of two famous movie stars and a child of divorce who spent most of her youth in boarding schools. Married at twenty, she found herself in a physically abusive relationship which she couldn't talk about and which she was afraid to end for fear that she would be killed. (Chapter 6 is a must read for anyone in such a situation.) Freed of that marriage, she struggled to make her way in the world, working at various times as a singer, an actress, in public relations, as a radio talk show host, and more often than not as a volunteer campaign worker for the Republican Party. But when her father finally entered the political arena to run for governor of California she was prevented from campaigning on his behalf because those running his campaign feared that news of his earlier divorce would hurt his chances. Maureen and her brother Michael were forced to become invisible "non-persons." But even then, Maureen remained politically active behind the scenes by supporting other Republican candidates for office. At the same time, she continued to pursue a career in show business; but as she said, she had three strikes against her - Ronald Reagan's acting career, Jane Wyman's acting career, and Reagan's conservative politics. Maureen did, however, find minor roles and extensive work in TV commercials. Finally, she found her real role in life as an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) activist, consultant on women's affairs, and an expert on international trade. Then, at long last, in 1980, she got her wish. She was allowed to campaign for her father, and she campaigned vigorously, not just then, but for the remainder of his political life. In 1985, she was chosen to chair the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations World Conference for the UN Commission on the Status of Women, became the U.S representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and went on to be appointed co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. All in all, her's was quite a life.

I found this book to be very interesting and extremely enlightening, particularly with regard to such things as Maureen's relationship with Nancy Reagan, the rumored Reagan/Ford co-presidency offer, and Donald Regan's role in Iran/Contra and his justifiable firing. But I found the early and late chapters (and Chapter 6) to be especially interesting since for the most part they dealt with the Reagan family and the relationships between the various family members in what has always been rumored to be a dysfunctional family.

Bottom line - This is an excellent book which should be of interest to future historians and to anyone interested in America's 40th president, his life, his times, and his place in history.

Average customer rating:

First Father, First Daughter A Memoir
Maureen Reagan
Manufacturer: Little, Brown & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0TGWO

Average customer rating:

First Father, First Daughter A Memoir
Maureen Reagan
Manufacturer: Little, Brown & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0VF1O

Memoirs of a Terrorist: A Novel (S U N Y Series, Margins of Literature)

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Memoirs of a Terrorist: A Novel (S U N Y Series, Margins of Literature)
Sally Patterson Tubach
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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First Father, First Daughter A Memoir
Maureen Reagan
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTUW00

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First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir
Maureen Reagan
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTT9DQ

Book Description

Bill Hayes grew up in a family in which the question "How'd you sleep?" was as much a staple at the breakfast table as orange juice or coffee, a question that encouraged genuine reflection and a legacy of life-shaping implications. If there's such a thing as an insomnia gene, he tells us at the outset of this beautifully written memoir, my father passed it on to me, along with his green eyes and Irish melancholy.

Hayes' narrative affords an intimate look at one man's singular journey through contemporary life -- from his over-caffeinated, sleep-disturbed childhood as the son of a Coca-Cola bottler to the height of his insomnia, when his partner struggles with AIDS and Hayes must face an increasingly troubling and debilitating sleep disorder.

Armed with an infectious curiosity and an obsession with the mysteries of his personal demons, he leads readers on a fascinating exploration of sleep disorders and contends with all manner of theories and experimentation, from the conceptions of sleep in ancient mythology to today's state-of-the-art sleeping aids and clinics.

Customer Reviews:

Sleepless Scrutiny.......2003-01-08

I found Sleep Demons, An Insomniac's memoir, to be an excellent and intriguing study of the history of sleep. From discoveries, to theories, to even the `average Joe's' thoughts and input. Bill Hayes gets a five across the board for an overall performance.

Sleepless Scrutiny.......2003-01-08

Middle of the Road.......2002-06-06

I have a hard time mustering more than three stars for this novel. With respect to his discussion of the science of sleeping - I found his reporting of current and historical research interesting but his own theories somewhat half-baked. The autobiographical portion of the book simply wasn't engaging. Not funny (like Devaid Sedaris) or terribly interesting either. Overall I think the book was fair at best.

Well written.......2001-05-29

As a sleep researcher myself, I appreciated how the author connected his personal sleep problems with ancient, historical, and current studies about sleep. Quoting a variety of sources from books, interviews and articles, the book presents the information in a very candid yet engaging manner. I wish the author a good night's rest, finally.

Average customer rating:

Sleep Demons : An Insomniac's Memoir
Bill Hayes
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O73CU4

Average customer rating:

Sleep Demons : An Insomniac's Memoir
Bill Hayes
Manufacturer: Second Sight Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WL3SGA

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Sleep Demons : An Insomniacs Memoir
Bill Hayes
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O717PG

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