Koncocoo

Best Seashells

Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber
Now, the second edition of this supremely comprehensive guide has even more to satisfy the curious beachcomber, including expanded content and additional accounts with more than 1800 full-color photographs, maps, and illustrations. Blair and Dawn have merged their art, writing, photography, and design in a number of projects, including Florida's Living Beaches: A Beachcomber's Guide , Florida's Seashells , Living Beaches of Georgia and the Carolinas: A Beachcomber's Guide , and Seashells of Georgia and the Carolinas: A Beachcomber's Guide .
Reviews
"This is the perfect book for those who love exploring Florida's beaches and want to learn more about what they find."
"I came to using it after beachcombing with either pictures (preferred) or specimens."
"Good gift for an adult or young beachcomber."
"I learned a lot about beaches and sand movement from the "Beach Features" section."
"What impressed me was seeing that it covers the entire gambit of everything and anything a person may find at the beach, from shells to corals, sponges, jellyfish, land and water animals, plant/tree life, seabeans and seeds and even drift item that commonly wash ashore. As others have mentioned it's full of photographs on every page, a corresponding map telling you where in Florida you'll tend to find each particular item and during what season, and is a well organized, easy and fun to read high quality book."
"If you live in Florida, this is a must."
"What an incredible book!"
"It is so entertaining and informative that you can spend hours with it and you will certainly be referring to it often to identify things that you see on the beach or shells that you collect."
Find Best Price at Amazon
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders: North America (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback))
Descriptive text includes measurements, diagnostic details, and information on habitat, range, feeding habits, sounds or songs, flight period, web construction, life cycle, behaviors, folklore, and environmental impact.
Reviews
"so much information, easy to use, over-all excellent source of information."
"This has in almost every instance resulted in finding the desired identity.I don't carry it with me, but it looks durable enough to be put in my camera bag and have it survive a lot of handling."
"I have all of these series of field guides and even though they are older (somewhat out of date) these guides are great to me."
"All of the National Audubon books are wonderful and even a 4th or 5th grader can find information in them and understand what they are reading."
"It is hard to beat the Audubon field guides."
"Our family loves these books."
"I use it to look things up."
"It's too bad because the Audubon books we have about trees, birds, and reptiles are very good."
Find Best Price at Amazon
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashells
Featuring a durable vinyl binding and over 700 full-color identification photographs organized visually by color and shape, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Shells is an essential book for beach-combers and divers on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of North America and the West Indies. The essential book for beach-combers and divers, this guide explores more than 705 seashells, living mollusks, abalone, periwinkles, conchs, limpets, oysters, clams, mussels, and cockles found on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of North America and the West Indies.
Reviews
"You can’t go wrong purchasing any books put out by the National Audubon Society Field books!"
"I have all of these series of field guides and even though they are older (somewhat out of date) these guides are great to me."
"Audubon always has great stuff!"
"These are a nice books."
"Great format, is easy to carry in a pocketed life-jacket when I paddle out to barrier islands and with just tucking it in a zip lock bag, have easy availability to review or research what I find washed up on the shores."
"One of the best she'll books ever."
"I am thrilled with my recent purchase of the "used" National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashells."
"We both also agree that we like the layout of our older Audubon book where the picture and the information on that picture are on the same page."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Entomology

The Beekeeper's Handbook
• step-by-step directions for all stages from setting up an apiary to harvesting honey; • approximately 100 illustrations featuring techniques, equipment, and bee biology; • information about how to manage new pests and diseases including Colony Collapse Disorder; • coverage of new trends and changes in beekeeping including green IPM techniques and new laws for urban beekeeping; • the most up-to-date bibliography and list of resources on the topic; and. • a new user-friendly book design that clearly highlights instructions and other important features. "The text is presented in a very readable way, and the diagrams are some of the clearest I have seen for a long time. The book outlines options for each operation within beekeeping, listing advantages and disadvantages of each alternative. "Since the publication of the first edition of the handbook in 1973, many thousands of novice and experienced beekeepers have relied on this book as the preferred single-volume guide to bee keeping. The fourth edition has been redesigned, revised and expanded to incorporate the latest findings on Colony Collapse Disorder, green integrated pest management techniques, overwintering protocols and ways to control bee mites .
Reviews
"I'm just a beginner or a hobbyist as they are called and yet this book isn't anything over my head nor is it hard to read."
"A must for every backyard beekeeper."
"Outstanding!"
"good book for reference and basic learning."
"Excellent book."
"Good information."
"My friend and I are interested in starting to raise our own bees, so when I saw this book listed I thought I would purchase it."
"Being new to beekeeping, I found this book especially handy ( this being my 5th bee related book )."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Coastal Ecosystems

Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber
Now, the second edition of this supremely comprehensive guide has even more to satisfy the curious beachcomber, including expanded content and additional accounts with more than 1800 full-color photographs, maps, and illustrations. Blair and Dawn have merged their art, writing, photography, and design in a number of projects, including Florida's Living Beaches: A Beachcomber's Guide , Florida's Seashells , Living Beaches of Georgia and the Carolinas: A Beachcomber's Guide , and Seashells of Georgia and the Carolinas: A Beachcomber's Guide .
Reviews
"This is the perfect book for those who love exploring Florida's beaches and want to learn more about what they find."
"I came to using it after beachcombing with either pictures (preferred) or specimens."
"Good gift for an adult or young beachcomber."
"I learned a lot about beaches and sand movement from the "Beach Features" section."
"What impressed me was seeing that it covers the entire gambit of everything and anything a person may find at the beach, from shells to corals, sponges, jellyfish, land and water animals, plant/tree life, seabeans and seeds and even drift item that commonly wash ashore. As others have mentioned it's full of photographs on every page, a corresponding map telling you where in Florida you'll tend to find each particular item and during what season, and is a well organized, easy and fun to read high quality book."
"If you live in Florida, this is a must."
"What an incredible book!"
"It is so entertaining and informative that you can spend hours with it and you will certainly be referring to it often to identify things that you see on the beach or shells that you collect."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Insect & Spider Field Guides

A Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexico
Find what you're looking for with Peterson Field Guides —their field-tested visual identification system is designed to help you differentiate thousands of unique species accurately every time. With Richard D. Alexander he recorded The Songs of Insects, one of the Sounds of Nature disks in the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology series.
Reviews
"This is a good field guide, but there are no color pictures, and the labeling system assumes that you already have a knowledge of the insect families."
"Great ID guide for insects, I am still using this years after taking an entomology class where this book was helpful in the field."
"Exactly what my daughter needed for class."
"The front and back covers even have a convientent, illustrated dichotomous key that can help you get started by determining the order of your mystery insect."
"Would recommend to anyone who wants to know what they have come across, and need to identify what insect they have."
"4 stars because the book is mostly out of date on the larger groupings of Insecta but the info on the families are for the most part correct."
"Tried to look up 2 insects that i found.Could not find either one of them in the book.Either this book was published many years ago or they just didn't list all the insects that you will find in North America.Would not recommend this book."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best General Florida Travel Guides

A Kids Guide to Chicago
Kids and grownups alike are sure to ooh and aah, and laugh out loud as gifted writer Karen T. Bartlett takes them on a supersize Chicago adventure, with fascinating stories, quirky factoids, and a generous helping of silliness. Karen T. Bartlett is an award-winning professional photojournalist whose travel articles and photography appear regularly in magazines, travel guides, newspapers and books throughout North America and the Caribbean.
Reviews
"A fun book with great info for my kids."
"There are several guidebooks to Chicago - for KIDS - but this one exceeds them all by far."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Reptiles & Amphibians

National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders: North America (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback))
Descriptive text includes measurements, diagnostic details, and information on habitat, range, feeding habits, sounds or songs, flight period, web construction, life cycle, behaviors, folklore, and environmental impact.
Reviews
"The pictures are organized by insect biotype and refer to the page number where insect information is. Cons: One thing I wish this book had was more pictures at the front, since there were some insects I had never seen before and couldn't even find something similar in the book."
"This is a fascinating and helpful book!"
"A nice surprise for my husband."
"This has in almost every instance resulted in finding the desired identity.I don't carry it with me, but it looks durable enough to be put in my camera bag and have it survive a lot of handling."
"I have all of these series of field guides and even though they are older (somewhat out of date) these guides are great to me."
"All of the National Audubon books are wonderful and even a 4th or 5th grader can find information in them and understand what they are reading."
"It is hard to beat the Audubon field guides."
"Our family loves these books."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Marine Life

Ocean: A Photicular Book
Open the book, and the reader is swept into the magic of an underwater world, face-to-face with a floating Yellow-Banded Sweetlips; with a glow-in-the-dark Deep-Sea Anglerfish; with a Sea Horse swaying in balletic motion; with a Sand Tiger Shark gliding along the ocean floor, its gaze haunting, its hook-toothed mouth gulping open and closed. “Showcasing stunning photographic images that ripple with movement, Dan Kainen fully immerses readers in a captivating underwater realm. (The Bookseller). “Showcasing stunning photographic images that ripple with movement, Dan Kainen fully immerses readers in a captivating underwater realm.
Reviews
"Here's a short video of what this book does."
"-- but even the youngest kids will enjoy the graphics and pictures!"
"It would be great to see future books with possibly forest animals, maybe desert animals, flying animals, creepy crawlies...the possibilities are endless!!"
"These books are great."
"We saw this at a toy store and put in on the mental list for our child's upcoming birthday."
"Okay, for those of you who've not seen these, they are a MUST have for kids of all ages."
"The plastic in the images was a bit damaged but for $5 it’s fine."
"I love how realistically the pictures move, it is amazing!"
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Bird Watching

National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America (National Geographic Backyard Guides)
Essential for the millions of Americans who watch and feed birds in their backyards—whether experienced birders or new birding enthusiasts—from the experts at National Geographic and co-author of the popular and perennial best seller Field Guide to the Birds of North America. "Valuable, as both a reference and as a 'browsing' book."
Reviews
"purchased as a gift--very nice--fast shipping."
"I bought this for my autistic grandson, who loves birds."
"We have five roadrunners that live on our patio with us and we consider them "Backyard Birds"."
"He looks forward to practicing, with his. binoculars, to recognize and help birds reasonably close at hand!"
"Nice details about the birds characteristics and behavior."
"Sent as a gift to a favorite cousin but forgot to let him know who was sending it."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Bears

American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains
Winner of the Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize America's Great Plains once possessed one of the grandest wildlife spectacles of the world, equaled only by such places as the Serengeti, the Masai Mara, or the veld of South Africa. Historian Dan Flores draws deeply from his professional expertise and life as a denizen of this eco-region to create a poetic book that functions as both conservation manifesto and memoir. Writing for a general audience, the author masterfully renders an evocative portrait to elucidate all that has been lost--vast herds of free-ranging antelope and bison, with attendant predators such as wolves, coyotes, and grizzly bears." Historian Dan Flores draws deeply from his professional expertise and life as a denizen of this eco-region to create a poetic book that functions as both conservation manifesto and memoir. Writing for a general audience, the author masterfully renders an evocative portrait to elucidate all that has been lost--vast herds of free-ranging antelope and bison, with attendant predators such as wolves, coyotes, and grizzly bears." — Karl Jacoby , author of Crimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation. " American Serengeti is Dan Flores’s love song to the Great Plains, with each verse a fond embrace of one of its own—grizzlies and bison, pronghorns and coyotes. "Dan Flores has written an engaging and provocative account of ecological change in the Great Plains by tracing the interaction of the large animals and humans in this grassland during the past 13,000 years. Personal, passionate, and scholarly, his essays on pronghorns, coyotes, horses, grizzly bears, bison, and wolves give these ancient, durable animals their historical due.
Reviews
"It is not only about the wildlife we still have among us in the Great Plains, it is an examination of the super-region’s movement through the past 10,000 years with the coming and current presence of mankind."
"I've heard Dan Flores speak on the MeatEater podcast multiple times and had to pick up his book."
"This is a great book that explores what we have squandered in the name of progress."
"Great read about the past, present, and potential future of the remaining mega fauna of the Great Plains."
"Excellent encapsulation of what once was and, potentially, could be again in some form or another."
"Great book referred by Joe Rogan."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Mammals

Safari: A Photicular Book
Readers, as if on African safari, encounter eight wild animals that come alive using never-before-seen Photicular technology. Accompanying the images is Safari , the guide: It begins with an evocative journal of a safari along the Mara River in Kenya and interweaves the history of safaris. "Shots of cheetahs, rhinos, and gazelles spring to life as the pages turn." "Lenticular technology takes a big leap forward with this virtual safari." ( Entertainment Weekly ). “Shots of cheetahs, rhinos, and gazelles spring to life as the pages turn.”.
Reviews
"Normally when I purchase a gift on Amazon I just have them wrap it and send the gift directly to the person, but as a Christmas present I bought a few of these "Photicular" books and wanted to wrap them myself.."
"The level of information is a bit much for toddlers to grasp, but you can still do rough estimates of how many toddlers tall and heavy each animal is and practice animal noises and identification with little ones until they can comprehend the more advanced words."
"There's such a treasure of information about each one that if you can turn your eyes away from the pictures, you'll find there's lots to learn."
"Bought this book for my 18-month-old niece and it's a great book."
"The coolest book you will ever see."
"Grandchildren love to look at the pictures, they get a kick out of them all moving on the page."
"Although everyone was happy i sense the the mechanism and the content of the book were for different audiences, and this distract the attention of a good reader."
"Keep in mind that you do not want to smash this book or put a lot of weight on top of it, or it will damage the photoiculars."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Fishes & Sharks

Reef Fish Identification - Florida Caribbean Bahamas - 4th Edition (Reef Set)
The 4th edition is packed with amazing marine life photographs of 683 species and enough information to keep fish watchers busy for years. In the early 1970s, Paul Humann, then captain owner of the Caribbean's first live-aboard dive boat, Cayman Diver, experienced daily frustration when unable to answer his clients many questions about the host of fish they encountered on every dive.
Reviews
"Humann not only helps you identify the various Caribbean creatures in the usual way of pointing out distinguishing features and identifying marks, he also helps you understand the relationship between seemingly very different fish (like how a pretty little Fairy Basslet is related to those big, impressive Bass)."
"Great to peruse / read at my leisure and further my aquatic education (you must have guessed already that as a scuba diver I love this kind of reading :) But another great bonus is that by reading this great book and looking at the pictures I mentally travel in an instant underwater to beautiful places I've been, even to ones I long to be and then by being in that blue Universe I love to be - and good books are such great frigates that take us places as the poet has put it - offers me such great joy, such great joy... and you can't really put a price on this!..."
"Saw this book in my local dive shop conference room."
"I thought I knew my neon goby= now I find there is a separate "Caribbean neon goby" that I need to see if I can differentiate."
"The first few pages have some drawn illustrations to guide you to which class you are looking for and go to that section where there are excellent color photos to help identify the species. Every species listed also has a short blurb to tell you specific identifying features (which can be helpful if the specimen you're identifying was a little varied from the photo), the prevalence in the area, normal dwelling areas (like in coral, near sponges, etc) to be even more specific to help you identify."
"The info for each fish is only a couple lines, but if he has more questions he just googles the name."
"Significant accounts of the biology of various species are lacking, but this volume is just what it says it is, a field guide."
"One of the best fish identifier books available."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Fossils

Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth
Of course, the ever-popular and endlessly intriguing dinosaurs feature large, but Prehistoric Life gives you the whole picture, and the plants, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals that are the ancestors of today's species also populate its pages, making this book unprecedented in its coverage of prehistory. DK's aim is to inform, enrich, and entertain readers of all ages, and everything DK publishes, whether print or digital, embodies the unique DK design approach. DK acts as the parent company for Alpha Books, publisher of the Idiot's Guides series and Prima Games, video gaming publishers, as well as the award-winning travel publisher, Rough Guides.
Reviews
"Beyond Awesome."
"It provides an interesting review of the history of life on earth as well as the important fossils that helped establish this history."
"Outstanding educating book."
"The amount of information in this book is worth the cost plus the photos and graphics make the concepts easier to understand."
"I am from Michigan,and I have collected Petoskey stones (fossilized coral), as well chain coral fossils, and horn coral from the beaches."
"A wealth of knowledge and information that covers major topics in clear, well put together text."
"Impressed."
"A lot of good information... very nice book, I would highly recommend."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Horses

The Horse Encyclopedia
Browse through the catalog of gorgeous photographs and learn about the characteristics and origins of each breed, from Friesians to Thoroughbreds, and some of the most famous horses that left a mark on equine history. Elwyn Hartley Edwards was one of the most respected equestrian authors of the twentieth century.
Reviews
"I purchased this item as a gift for my nephew, an 8-year-old boy who is absolutely crazy about horses."
"Recommend."
"This book will teach anyone about horses."
"This was a gift to my father."
"Then you start reading and realize how many errors are in here. Words in which we use Z are spelled with S. In some cases, entire words are spelled differently. e.g. Arabian horses are called Arabs. The descriptions for spotted horses were completely wrong. But they completely failed on their information on Mustangs, which are called American Mustangs."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Wildlife

Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide, 3rd Edition
With more than 1 million copies sold, this updated and revised celebration of the animal kingdom features photos and descriptions of over 2,000 species and habitats. Editors-in-Chief: Don E. Wilson is the senior scientist at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Reviews
"I believe this is one of the best books I have ever seen, and I believe every single family should own it. Photos of a penguin colony are included, as are an underwater photo and photos of different types of penguins. In addition, I can't believe what a great price it is for such a priceless book."
"Each section has a close up photo of a feature that sets that each type of animal apart and then goes into detail on how to identify what makes each animal a mammal, fish, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate, etc. The cover has a slight texture to the animal's features on the front and back cover which was unexpected but in a good way."
"Many books can be enjoyed or experienced in digital formats as well or better than traditional page-turners. This is the third edition of this book, which has sold more than 1 and 1/2 million units. Even for Kindle types, this book exemplifies how some books are best utilized in traditional format. This book lends itself to a coffee table or reference desk."
"Pictures of each animal accompany the description and the definition which are wonderful-this is a book from Smithsonian, who is renown not only for their museums in Washington but for their excellent picture books and magazines as well."
"Looks like a nice book."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Butterflies

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides)
The most comprehensive field guide available to North American mushrooms--a must-have for any enthusiast's day pack or home library--from the go-to reference source for over 18 million nature lovers. With more than 700 mushrooms detailed with color photographs and descriptive text, this is the most comprehensive photographic field guide to the mushrooms of North America.
Reviews
"lol ,if you like hanging outside and checking out mother nature, this book is worth every penny."
"Within minutes of receiving it I was able to find and identify a mushroom that I had photographed years ago and have been wondering about."
"An excellent reference."
"A good guide that will get your pretty close to an identification but probably not all the way there."
"Got this copy for a friend getting into mushrooming, ours is well-used."
"If you are into shrooms, this is the book for you!"
"Very good pictures and descriptions of most mushrooms."
"Even many of the most popular edible mushrooms (like boletes) are either not in the book or there is insufficient information to positively ID them."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Dogs & Wolfs

The Hidden Life of Wolves
For conservationists and lovers of animals, nature, and especially dogs, this National Geographic book shares the surprising understanding of wild wolves gained over six years the authors spent living intimately with them. — Apogee Photo Magazine "A richly layered work that speaks to the intricate and controversial relationship between wolves and humans." “A richly layered work that speaks to the intricate and controversial relationship between wolves and humans.” --Oregon Live.
Reviews
"Her birthday is in February, falling this year in the deepest frozen tundra of the coldest winter here in New York since 1885."
"Wonderful book!"
"This book is on my coffee table & it does catch everyone's eyes as they reach for this book to scan the photos."
""The Hidden Life of Wolves" is an excellent book!!!!"
"Amazing photos reveal the authors concerns and devotion to this complex and majestic wild american symbol."
"I've loved wolves since I was a kid and this book is filled with lots of great pics of the wolves along with the sawtooth scenery."
"Stunning pictures, perfect if your an artist."
"My husband is very difficult to buy for but this did the trick."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Dinosaurs

Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth
Of course, the ever-popular and endlessly intriguing dinosaurs feature large, but Prehistoric Life gives you the whole picture, and the plants, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals that are the ancestors of today's species also populate its pages, making this book unprecedented in its coverage of prehistory. DK's aim is to inform, enrich, and entertain readers of all ages, and everything DK publishes, whether print or digital, embodies the unique DK design approach. DK acts as the parent company for Alpha Books, publisher of the Idiot's Guides series and Prima Games, video gaming publishers, as well as the award-winning travel publisher, Rough Guides.
Reviews
"Beyond Awesome."
"It provides an interesting review of the history of life on earth as well as the important fossils that helped establish this history."
"Outstanding educating book."
"The amount of information in this book is worth the cost plus the photos and graphics make the concepts easier to understand."
"I am from Michigan,and I have collected Petoskey stones (fossilized coral), as well chain coral fossils, and horn coral from the beaches."
"A wealth of knowledge and information that covers major topics in clear, well put together text."
"Impressed."
"A lot of good information... very nice book, I would highly recommend."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Apes & Monkeys

The Girl With No Name: The Incredible Story of a Child Raised by Monkeys
The amazing story of a girl who overcomes unique hardship and deprivation―growing up with a troop of capuchin monkeys―to find ultimate redemption.- As seen on The Today Show. So begins the story of her five years among the monkeys, during which time she gradually became feral; she lost the ability to speak, lost all inhibition, lost any real sense of being human, replacing the structure of human society with the social mores of her new simian family. Torn from her family at the tender age of four and abandoned in the Colombian jungle, Chapman must fight to survive. This remarkable memoir, coauthored by Barrett-Lee, is based on years of Chapman’s conversations about her brutal childhood with her daughter.
Reviews
"Then exchanging work for shelter and food in a brothel - later with a Columbian mafia family where her life was threatened every day - finally escaping to a monastery at about age 14 where she escaped again because of the treatment there."
"An 8 year old Indian girl was rescued from the Channel Islands at age 18."
"The photographs at the story's end are just one reason to believe this incredible story, but incredible it is...very difficult to believe at all."
"It makes obvious how our early experiences and upbringing have a great impact on our later years."
"It is nearly impossible to retrain their brains to accept love and trust from a mother figure. Yet being abandoned for all those years threw her in to survival mode and all the stealing, just like a RAD child. For one, chapter 24, when she spoke about stealing being private and just for herself...and that to ask an adult for something made her vulnerable and subject to judgement."
"(and a well done one) The girl herself, Marina Chapman, now 62 years old would probably not have written about her story, but her daughter thought that it should be heard and Marina plans to donate her share of the profits from this book to help finance charities that combat human trafficking and child slavery in Colombia. Even though some people doubt the truth of her story, It is a story that will keep you reading and not want to put down."
"As someone who spent my own days as a 4-5 year old growing up in Tennessee running with my neighbor's pack of rescued stray dogs, I could relate to this story."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Insects & Spiders

The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses
Part history book, part handbook, and part cookbook, this illustrated tome covers every facet of the ancient hobby of beekeeping, from how to manage hives safely to harvesting one's own honey, and ideas for how to use honey and beeswax. Fully illustrated with how-to photography and unique etchings, any backyard enthusiast or gardener can confidently dive into beekeeping with this book in hand (or daydream about harvesting their own honey while relaxing in the comfort of an armchair). Richard A. Jones is a writer, ecologist, and high-profile UK expert on insects, and is a contributor and scientific advisor to BBC Wildlife Magazine and New Scientist .
Reviews
"Full of informative history, great photography, heavy paper stock, quality binding, and rife with a fairly complete overview of standard practice beekeeping methodology of the last 50+ years. They are the methods established, and now sadly accepted as standard practice, by production-focused commercial beekeepers and oriented toward a single purpose.....high honey yields. Sadly, there is virtually no mention of any of the newer (older actually) beekeeping practices which are gaining favor and showing at least the promise of greater self-sustainability in recent years. As beautiful as the book is (and it is) it's a bit like reading a book that touts itself as the definitive "Bible" on forest & land management which ONLY discusses the practice of industrial clear cutting while completely ignoring selective harvesting, dispersed cut blocks, longer green up periods, and any number of increasingly accepted forest management practices aimed at improved sustainability. I'd have loved to give this beautiful book 5 stars but any "Bible" on beekeeping has to include these now pressing considerations and at least minimally recognize that when one finds oneself in a hole....it's time to stop digging."
"Bought this book for a bee-keeping friend and she loves it."
"Even non beekeepers will enjoy the recipes and history of this fascinating insect."
"got for my mother-in-law, she is starting with bees...she loves this book so far."
"A lot of good information is in this if you are interested in keeping bees."
"Product as described, transaction went super smooth."
"As new beekeepers, there is plenty of good starter info as well as a lot for the seasoned keepers."
"Very informative book."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Biology of Cats, Lions & Tigers

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (Vintage Departures)
As John Vaillant re-creates these extraordinary events, he gives us an unforgettable and masterful work of narrative nonfiction that combines a riveting portrait of a stark and mysterious region of the world and its people, with the natural history of nature’s most deadly predator. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the taiga, John Vaillant provides an unforgettable true account of a lethal collision between man and beast in a remote Russian village during the late 1990's. It's a gutsy approach that could easily lead to chaotic storytelling, but Vaillant is careful to keep the bone-chilling storyline taut by capturing the intensity of an animal worthy of our greatest respect and deepest fears. A few years ago, I interviewed a Delaware state trooper named Butch LeFebvre who’d been assigned to investigate rumors that a mountain lion was roaming the outskirts of Wilmington. It doesn’t just attack villagers; it hunts them, picking its targets like a hitman with a contract, at one point even dragging a mattress out of a shack so it can lie comfortably in wait until the woodsman returns home. Big as three NFL linebackers bundled into one, armed with claws longer than fingers and jaws rated on a strength-scale used for dinosaurs, tigers are built like missiles and can out-swim, out-climb, out-fox and out-run just about anything that breathes. You crouch to the height of the animal you’re seeking, learning to see the world through its eyes, inhale scents through its nostrils, feel cool earth and crushed leaves beneath its padded paws. They feel such kinship with the big cats that they’ll even share their meals by leaving hunks of meat in the woods, convinced the tigers will re-pay them in kind with a deer haunch when times are lean.
Reviews
"Okay, but why should you read a book about a search for a man-eating Amur tiger, the world’s largest land predator, in the most remote parts of the earth?"
"Oh, by the way ....." I liked the book."
"The book brings all that alive in the first half of the book."
"The bottom line is that this book is a masterpiece, a work of art and detailed investigation. For a while I thought that all significant action had taken place, but then Bam! The last encounter causing the death of our friend, El Tigre, is a fantastic scene."
"Amazing book that conveys the excitement and horror of living in a land where humans are among creatures hunted by tigers."
"One of the best books I've read in years."
"This is purportedly true life and once again, highlights the flexibility of most wildlife when sharing this world with humans."
"Vaillant is a brilliant writer and, although I was primarily interested in reading about Amur Tigers, the Taiga, and outdoor adventure, I got a whole lot more for my money than that."
Find Best Price at Amazon