A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guide) [Paperback]

Roger Caras (Author), Steven Foster (Author), Roger Tory Peterson (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 039593608X | ISBN-13: 978-0395936085 | Publication Date: September 15, 1998 | Edition: Exp Sub

This essential guide to safety in the field features 90 venomous animals and more than 250 poisonous plants and fungi. The 340 line drawings make identification fast and simple; 160 species are also illustrated with color photographs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roger A. Caras (May 28, 1928-February 18, 2001) was an American wildlife photographer, writer, wildlife preservationist and television personality.

Known as the host of the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Caras was a veteran of network television programs including “Nightline,” “ABC News Tonight” and 20/20 before devoting himself to work as president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and to becoming an author.

Steven Foster has written numerous books and magazine articles on the medicinal use of herbs. He is the coauthor of the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America.

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world"s greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Exp Sub edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039593608X
• ISBN-13: 978-0395936085
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Foster is the author or co-author of seventeen books, including National Geographic's A Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine (2006, with Rebecca Johnson), a 2007 New York Public Library "Best of Reference." He is senior author of three Peterson Field Guides, including A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs (with Dr. James A. Duke), 2nd edition, 2000, A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs with Christopher Hobbs, (2002), and A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants of North America (with Roger Caras, 1995). My goal is simply to explore the relationship between people and plants in words and images. My travels have taken me to every continent except Antarctica, mostly in search of medicinal plants to photograph from the Amazon rainforest to the highlands of Vietnam, resulting in a photographic library of over 200,000 images. In 1974, I began my career at the Herb Department of the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, Shaker Community, America's oldest herb business dating to 1799. It has been an extraordinary journey, and it is my pleasure to share my experience through my books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Before you know what's edible, know what'll kill you!, August 17, 2000

By 

Urban Medic - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

Before you dash out into the woods and pick some plants you think are edible, you might want to get this book and know definitely what will kill you, or really mess up your body. Excellent info, bright color pictures, and written for an easy understanding, this book should be in any nature enthusiast's library, right next to Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, possibly the best plant identification guide around.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars i didn't know that!, March 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

did you know that boxwood, the ever present suburban hedge, is mildly poisonous? i didn't! a very useful book to reference for what not to touch, eat, or annoy.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't harm snake on cover !!, May 15, 2007

By 

Michael A. Peters (Antioch, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

My little brother just gave me this field guide. I was shocked to see a picture of a completely harmless Scarlet Kingsnake on the cover of a field guide to Venemous Animals.

I like the field guide, but please people, if you see the snake on the cover - understand it is a Kingsnake and completely harmless, not a Coral snake which is probably what they intended to have on the cover.

Coral snakes do not have red bands between two black bands, and the type of bands they have are quite different.

If you see a Coral snake, please don't kill it either - leave it alone, but especially do not kill a harmless Scarlet Kingsnake thinking it was a Coral snake. Hopefully the next edition will fix this embarrasing mistake.