Each tree in the native forest is treated to a loving and often wide-ranging essay on its biology, history and anything else that Peattie finds interesting in this wonderfully literate handbook to North American trees, first published in 1948. Though it includes a key to identification and 100 line drawings, its pelasures go far beyond its utility! Originally published as A Natural History of trees of Central and Eastern America (1950) and A Natural History of Western Trees (1953).  (NAM40, $40.00)