Aquarium Plant Paradise [Hardcover]

Takashi Amano (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: TFH Publications (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 079380518X
• ISBN-13: 978-0793805181
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #972,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amano is nothing if not inspiring, January 20, 2003

By 

Heather Foy (Guelph, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aquarium Plant Paradise (Hardcover)

I think Amano's critics tend to overlook the fact that he is a photographer, not a botanist or icthyologist. Even though his technical skills and knowledge of his craft are profound and probably rival, if not exceed, some of the "experts" in the field, he is first and foremost an artist.

An exceptional artist.

He has taken his love and respect of nature, reduced it to it's essentials and fleshed it out with a personal, subtle spirituality that is conveyed in all of his books, and this one is no exception.....

....as long as you can overlook the typos and printing errors.

I don't understand why the publisher would spend the money for spot gloss and good stock, yet overlook glaring alignment and spelling errors, but as previously mentioned by other reviewers, this book does seem hastily put together. It's not horrid though, and unfortunately it seems that all Japanese books translated for the American market suffer in much the same way, regardless of their genre.

If you are looking for in-depth technical how-to's and plant information, you will not find it here. However, it's obvious that was not what this book was intended to be in the first place, so it seems unfair to hold it up to that standard.

Despite the poor translation and the brevity of the technical information, I think this book can come in handy for the beginning aquatic plant enthusiast, and is a nice low-cost introduction to Takashi Amano. This book emphasizes smaller tanks with smaller, easy-to-keep fish (mostly), gives a broad overview of each tank and provides the basic groundwork for providing a pleasing tank layout. All this in 64 pages for $...- not bad, especially considering that it's more of an art book than a technical manual in the first place.

If this book was more expensive, I'd be harsher in my review of it. However, I think for the price, it certainly delivers.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reprint of the Aqua Journal, June 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Aquarium Plant Paradise (Hardcover)

This book is the extract and translation of the Aqua Journal (Japanese edition). It covers the waterscaping, selection of plants, composition of the tank, wood, rock and care of plant. The book is full of colour photographs with few descriptions. Its printing quality is poorer than the original Journal. I think this book is worth if you cannot obtain a copy of the Aqua Journal but it does provide some basic techniques of Amano's style plant tank.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the price, March 9, 2000

By 

Hoa Nguyen (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aquarium Plant Paradise (Hardcover)

This book is a bridge between the dazzling "Nature Aquarium World" series and the how-to books. About a dozen Amano tanks are presented, some with pictures from multiple angles. A short description of each tank then follows, including a diagram of the tank layout, plants and fish species and other facts. Included are short sections on how to design and put together a planted tank, and various other tidbits about fishkeeping in general.

The images are very good, but I found some diagram legends confusing--perhaps a result of the translation. The book isn't perfect, but is a good source of inspiration for beginners who cannot afford the more expensive though much more awe-inspiring "Nature Aquarium World" books. It also gives a little more insight into how Amano puts together his tanks. For the small cost, it is worth every penny.