North American Wildlife (revised and updated) (Hardcover)

by Editors of Reader's Digest (Author) "Grass traps energy from the sun and makes it into food; grasshopper eats grass; wren eats grasshopper; hawk eats wren; and so on through the..." (more)
Key Phrases: spore case clusters, upswept tepals, wandlike cluster, North America, United States, New World (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A valuable at-home reference and an extraordinarily usable guide to more than 2000 of the most common and conspicuous wild plants and animals. Specially designed for quick and easy identification. Vibrant, specially drawn full-color illustrations of each of the 2000-plus species.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Readers Digest (April 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762100206
• ISBN-13: 978-0762100200
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,887 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #13 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Plants > Flowers
  #38 in	Books > Science > Nature & Ecology > Natural History

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great resource, but "Updated Edition" is untrue, September 2, 2004

By	Andrea Johnson "Librarian, mama, book lover" (Vernon Hills, IL United States) - See all my reviews

I am a librarian, and my library has the 1982 edition of this book. When I saw there was an "updated edition," I bought it for the library so we could have a current version of the book. Well, the book just arrived, and lo and behold, the "updated edition" is the 2002 *printing* of the *same book*! Don't be fooled; this is the same information they sold you 22 years ago. The only thing new about it is the banner across the front that says "Updated Edition."

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reader's Digest North American Wildlife, July 23, 2002

By	Joe Zika "Khemprof" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Reader's Digest North American Wildlife is an "Illustrated Guide" to plants and animals found from Florida to Alaska. From birds to ferns, frogs to manta rays, seashells to mushrooms it is found in this colorful guide.

This is a book that is intended to be used as you explore nature. I found this book to be very useful and makes the enjoyment of the outdoors a more fulfulled experience. If you see a bird or a plant and want to know the name of it... check this book first and you will most likely find it. This is a treasure trove of information the entire family can use. Fascinating and enjoyable to use over and over again in the years to come, I have found this book to be indispensible.

Fully illustrated, easy to use with identification charts this should be with you on all serious nature walks.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great All-around Nature Reference, August 15, 2005

By	Addison Dewitt "scion of anything showy" (out there, in the dark) - See all my reviews

OK, this book isn't necessarily something a Phd would use in the field, but for general, all around reference to many species, I can't think of a better guide. In fact, there are many species I could NOT locate in some of my Peterson's Field guides that were included in this book. If you are out and about in nature, this allows you to carry ONE book instead of a stack of them. No cabin or campsite should be without it. The only negatives I could give it are the fact that the insect section and mammal sections are somewhat small, but the wildflower, tree and bird sections are more than enough for the nature hobbyist that isn't working on a degree.

Sad that the updated version is only a re-print... I was hoping for new, expanded info or perhaps some added species, but this still gets 4 stars from me and is a great gift for any nature enthusiast.