Customer Reviews

Trees and Shrubs of New England

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I wore out two copies of the 1980 paperback edition of this book and for ten years I've had to refer to my tattered collection of unbound pages secured by paperclips! I'm thrilled to see this revised edition. As New England natural history enthusiasts know, there are very few identification guides which cover native and wild-growing shrubs of the northeast - even the latest Peterson Field Guide now only treats trees and not shrubs. This book is thorough, treating even willows with enough depth to aid the amateur naturalist, and has detailed illustrations which beautifully capture the colors and textures of shrubs' leaves, flowers and fruits. My botanist friends have pointed out that the book is not wholly consistent or thorough in delineating botanical features, but unweildy technical books such as Britain and Brown's volumes are available for such detail. I have searched the market for years and have never found a better all around guide to shrubs for the not quite professional naturalist than Marilyn Dwelley's. The descriptions of tree species are also excellent, and full of fascinating, not commonly known, bits of information, but good tree books are much easier to find. If you want to learn New England Shrubs, a challenging, rewarding, and not impossible task, this is the book!

I love this field guide (and its wildflower partner)! The illustrations are sweet and pretty, but also very helpful in identifying, say, the subtle differences between black spruce and white spruce.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking to expand her knowledge of New England forests, or just looking for a charming gift for a lover of the outdoors.