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Maricel E. Presilla

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Alfred Lansing

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The Naturalist's Bookshelf

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

Ten essential books for the naturalist's bookshelf, Northeast edition

Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast

Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast

by Carol Gracie

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 290 PAGES

Baneberries, bloodroot, columbine, lousewort, mayapple, skunk cabbage, trillium, trout-lily, violets and wild ginger are among the 35 species of early spring wildflowers profiled in this exceptionally well illustrated natural history. (USE538, $29.95)

The Sibley Guide to Trees

The Sibley Guide to Trees

by David Allen Sibley

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 426 PAGES
  • NEW

Sibley turns his attention from birds to the trees where they live in this superb field guide to 668 species of native and commonly planted trees north of the Rio Grande. Bark, leaves, twigs, fruit, flowers and silhouettes are all meticulously illustrated. (NAT176, $39.95)

The Sibley Guide to Birds

The Sibley Guide to Birds

by David Sibley

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2000
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 544 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

With 6,600 original paintings, full-color detailed range maps and Sibley's mania for accuracy, this is the book that every North American birder must own. It's beautiful, too. (FG48, $39.95)

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

by Jon Dunn

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 576 PAGES

From Alaska to Baja California, Nova Scotia and Florida, this guide is the veteran's choice for birding anywhere in the United States. Tabbed for easy access, the color range maps in this sixth edition are outstanding. (FG09, $27.95)

Botany in a Day, The Patterns Method of Plant Identification

Botany in a Day, The Patterns Method of Plant Identification

by Thomas Elpel

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 221 PAGES

Packed with charts and illustrations, this essential tool for the amateur botanist will have you identifying plants no time! With key characteristics of 200 plant families. (REF36, $30.00)

Mammals of North America, Temperate and Arctic Regions

by Adrian Forsyth

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A handsome, illustrated reference to the mammals of North America. (NAM02, $29.95)

Mushrooms of Northeast North America, Midwest to New England

Mushrooms of Northeast North America, Midwest to New England

by George Barron

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

This must-have guide has spectacular photos and excellent species information. (USE325, $24.95)

Trees of North America, A Field Guide

Trees of North America, A Field Guide

by Christian Frank Brockman

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 238 PAGES

This classic, with commentary and drawings of tree shape, bark, leaf, flower, fruit and twig for quick identification, covers 730 species. (NAM07, $14.95)

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide

by Lawrence Newcomb

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 490 PAGES

A classic identification guide, which uses a simple dichotomous key for identification. With 1,075 mostly black-and-white drawings, it covers the Northeast and Great Lakes region, south to Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and most of Tennessee. (FG36, $19.99)

The Field Guide to Geology

The Field Guide to Geology

by David Lambert

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This visual overview of geology by David Lambert and The Diagram Group introduces plate tectonics, rocks, rivers, seas and ice, climate change and other issues in more than 750 two-tone charts, maps and diagrams. (GEO20, $16.95)

The Princeton Guide to Ecology

The Princeton Guide to Ecology

by Simon Levin

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 800 PAGES

An authoritative, one-volume overview of key concepts in ecology, with more than 90 articles written by an international team of experts and over 200 illustrations and photographs. (NAT170, $49.95)

 
American Earth

American Earth


by William McKibben

  • REFERENCE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 900 PAGES

This superb anthology collects essential American environmental writings from the past two centuries and considers their influence on the way people view the natural world. With essays by Henry David Thoreau, John Muir and John James Audubon. (NAT139, $40.00)

The Garden Primer

The Garden Primer


by Barbara Damrosch

  • REFERENCE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 668 PAGES

Damrosch's reassuring tone and humor are among the many virtues of this sensible, exceedingly useful guide to garden planning. We turn to it for all our garden-related questions, from picking plants to compost, tools and pests. (USA71, $18.95)

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Mammals


by David W. MacDonald

  • REFERENCE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 976 PAGES

The most comprehensive and accessible reference on mammals available, from aardvarks to zorros. With spectacular full-color photographs and information on behavior, status, habitats and more. (BST129, $45.00)

A Naturalist and Other Beasts

A Naturalist and Other Beasts


by George B. Schaller

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

The eminent zoologist writes with authority and affection of his many field expeditions over a long career in conservation, including his time among the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, snow leopards in Nepal and his groundbreaking work on giant pandas in Sichuan. (NAT119, $16.95)

The Audubon Reader

The Audubon Reader


by John James Audubon

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER

A definitive anthology of nature writings by the great artist and ornithologist features Audubon's lively and colorful writings about the American wilderness and its plant and animal life, accompanied by excerpts from his journals, letters, and published works that include his keen profiles of wild birds, accounts of his river journeys with the Osage, and more. (BRD59, $27.50)

A Natural History of North American Trees

A Natural History of North American Trees


by Donald Culross Peattie | Verlyn Klinkenborg

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 528 PAGES

Culross Peattie's graceful essays on America and its forests, originally published in the 1950s, with black-and-white etchings, feature the finest writing ever on the mighty oak, stately birch, magnificent beech and other native trees. (NAM40, $40.00)

Biology of Plants

Biology of Plants


by Peter Raven

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 875 PAGES

This elegantly written, illustrated overview of plants, covering physiology, anatomy, ecology and evolution, is the sort of textbook that you'll drag from the shelves and pore over. (NAT09, $180.75)

Bird, The Definitive Visual Guide

Bird, The Definitive Visual Guide


by Ben Hoare

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

Produced in collaboration with the National Audubon Society, this sumptuous survey presents the diversity of birds (including all the world's bird families), their behavior and conservation with style and authority in thousands of crisp color photographs and elegant accompanying text. (BRD54, $27.95)

Evolution, The First Four Billion Years

Evolution, The First Four Billion Years


by Michael Ruse | Joseph Travis

  • SCIENCE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 608 PAGES

Now in paper, this engaging A-to-Z compendium of people, ideas and the science of evolution was published in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin by Harvard University Press. (NAT150, $44.00)

From So Simple a Beginning, Darwin's Four Great Books

From So Simple a Beginning, Darwin's Four Great Books


by Charles Darwin | E.O. Wilson

  • SCIENCE
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 1504 PAGES

A beautifully presented omnibus edition, in a slipcase, of The Voyage of the Beagle, On the Origin of Species, Descent of Man, and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, each with an introductory essay by E.O. Wilson. (NAT83, $39.95)

National Geographic Birding Essentials

National Geographic Birding Essentials


by Jonathan Alderfer

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

This slim, illustrated guide delivers on its promise of "All the tools, techniques, and tips you need to begin and become a better birder." (BRD52, $15.95)

Remarkable Trees of the World

Remarkable Trees of the World


by Thomas Pakenham

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A man on a mission, Pakenham lugged a 30-pound large-format camera across four continents in search of the most famous, celebrated and just plain beautiful trees. (WLD47, $29.95)

Smithsonian Natural History, The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth

Smithsonian Natural History, The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth


by Becky Alexander

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 648 PAGES

Jammed with eye-popping photographs and in-depth two-page spreads on species of particular interest, this bold visual encyclopedia squeezes as many of the plants, animals, rocks and minerals of a natural history museum as could fit between its commodious covers. (NAT235, $50.00)

The Essential Naturalist

The Essential Naturalist


by Michael Graham

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 560 PAGES

Essays by modern field biologists working in a variety of disciplines accompany the entries in this wide-ranging, eclectic anthology of important nature writing over the centuries. (NAT241, $39.00)

The Naming of Names, The Search for Order in the World of Plants

The Naming of Names, The Search for Order in the World of Plants


by Anna Pavord

  • SCIENCE
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 384 PAGES

An enthusiastic and terrifically illustrated history of botany and botanical nomenclature by the author of The Tulip. (NAT91, $45.00)

The Practical Naturalist

The Practical Naturalist


by Dorling Kindersley

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 245 PAGES

Families will be inspired to explore the outdoors with this informative, illustrated guide to the natural world, chock-full of color illustrations, identification guides and short chapters on everything from insects and forests to conservation and cloud spotting. (NAT228, $19.95)

The Tree of Life, A Phylogenetic Classification

The Tree of Life, A Phylogenetic Classification


by Guillaume Lecointre | Herve Le Guyader

  • SCIENCE
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 560 PAGES

If you've somehow missed the recent upheavals in classification (or our very close evolutionary relation to fungi), we recommend this clear scientific overview of modern phylogeny. With 1,500 line diagrams. (NAT130, $39.95)

Tropical Ecology

Tropical Ecology


by John Kricher

  • SCIENCE
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 632 PAGES

Kricher (A Neotropical Companion) covers tropical montane ecology, riverine ecosystems, savanna, dry forest and other habitats in this illustrated survey geared for college students. (NAT242, $99.95)

Flowering Plant Families of the World

Flowering Plant Families of the World


by V.H. Heywood

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 424 PAGES

Comprehensive, visually stunning and packed with useful information, this fully revised second edition by Vernon Heywood and colleagues will give many hours of pleasure to botanists, gardeners and anyone interested in the diversity of plant life around the world. (NAT08, $59.95)

Sibley's Birding Basics

Sibley's Birding Basics


by David Sibley

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 154 PAGES

A beginner's guide to the art of finding and identifying birds in the field, featuring 200 color paintings. (BRD17, $15.95)

The Shorebird Guide

The Shorebird Guide


by Richard Crossley | Michael O'Brien | Kevin Karlson

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 496 PAGES

This illustrated guide explains how characteristics such as color patterns, size, structure and behavior are used to determine avian species. (BRD39, $24.95)

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Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.