Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Reference Source!
Review: Between 1919 and 1923, a landmark publication in four volumes, The Cactaceae, was published by the Carnegie Institution. It remains a landmark publication in the world's literature on cacti. Edward F. Anderson has produced a massive one volume encyclopedic work, which expands and extends the work of Carnegie Institution. This marvelous resource has been well worth waiting for as it is based on Anderson's forty-five years of research on cacti. The unique attributes of cacti are discussed in five chapters. Cacti occur naturally and are native to what is called "The New World." Only one species of native cacti is found in tropical Africa. In all other countries of the world where cacti are present, their existence is owed to the early explorers who carried cacti back to Europe on their ships and to birds that dispersed cactus seeds throughout the world. Cacti as food, both for humans and animals, is addressed along with the medicinal uses of cacti. Cacti have long been used for ceremonial and religious purposes by indigenous peoples of the New World and as a source of dyes, especially the beautiful red cochineal dye. A chapter on cacti cultivation has been contributed by Roger Brown. For those interested in growing cacti in their homes and gardens, Brown's advice on containers, potting and repotting, air circulation and ventilation, pests, pesticides, and propagation is a valuable bonus to this specialized encyclopedia. Pages 105 through 681 contain over 1,000 stunning color photographs (many photographed by Anderson), which are overwhelming in their portrayal of both the beauty and the idiosyncratic nature of cacti. Examples of the photographic artistry found within these glossy pages range from close-up snapshots of cactus flowers and large photographs of intriguing oddities. It will be difficult for cacti enthusiasts to wean themselves from this prodigious book, which weighs almost ten pounds. The appendices, glossary and indexes are superb. The eight-page double-column international bibliography is comprehensive, spanning over two centuries of research on cacti (the earliest citation is dated 1760 and the latest references are from 2001). This is truly a state-of-the-art source. This splendid work stands alone and at the top of its genre.
Rating:
Summary: A New Starting Point for Cactus Taxonomy
Review: Edward Anderson has produced a magnum opus from over forty years of research on almost all aspects of Cactaceae. The last thorough attempt to classify all cacti was completed in 1923 by Britton and Rose and is mainly useful now for locality information and as a snapshot of taxonomic thinking of the early 20th century. Anderson is an expert on cactus ethnobotany and devotes one chapter to how various cultures use cacti for building materials, a source for psychoactive drugs and food, among mnay other uses. A brief section on how to grow cacti by Roger Brown contains valuable tips for beginners but this is not a beginners book. Anderson's most sweeping contribution is a complete revision to the genus Opuntia, based on traditional taxonomy as well as recent DNA and chromosome information. The Cactus Family is well-illustrated with hundreds of color photographs and most of the cacti are shown in flower. Maps are provided for countries in North and South America but no distribution of the genera described is provided, information that is available elsewhere but not in one reliable source. Anderson humbly admits that cactus taxonomy will never be truly complete and he does focus on the genus and species levels, ignoring the Augean task of defining most varieties and subspecies. All in all, I highly recommed The Cactus Family to any academic, public or botanical library and to any serious cactus hobbyist as well. Anderson's work will likely be the standard reference for many years to come, providing professional and amateur researchers a solid foundation to base more detailed examinations of individual genera and species.
Rating:
Summary: A New Starting Point for Cactus Taxonomy
Review: Edward Anderson has produced a magnum opus from over forty years of research on almost all aspects of Cactaceae. The last thorough attempt to classify all cacti was completed in 1923 by Britton and Rose and is mainly useful now for locality information and as a snapshot of taxonomic thinking of the early 20th century. Anderson is an expert on cactus ethnobotany and devotes one chapter to how various cultures use cacti for building materials, a source for psychoactive drugs and food, among mnay other uses. A brief section on how to grow cacti by Roger Brown contains valuable tips for beginners but this is not a beginners book. Anderson's most sweeping contribution is a complete revision to the genus Opuntia, based on traditional taxonomy as well as recent DNA and chromosome information. The Cactus Family is well-illustrated with hundreds of color photographs and most of the cacti are shown in flower. Maps are provided for countries in North and South America but no distribution of the genera described is provided, information that is available elsewhere but not in one reliable source. Anderson humbly admits that cactus taxonomy will never be truly complete and he does focus on the genus and species levels, ignoring the Augean task of defining most varieties and subspecies. All in all, I highly recommed The Cactus Family to any academic, public or botanical library and to any serious cactus hobbyist as well. Anderson's work will likely be the standard reference for many years to come, providing professional and amateur researchers a solid foundation to base more detailed examinations of individual genera and species.
Rating:
Summary: Profusely illustrated with color photography
Review: Edward Anderson is senior research botanist at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona and 1998 winner of the prestigious Cactus d"or, given by the Principality of Monaco for outstanding research on succulents. In The Cactus Family, Anderson draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to create the definitive compendium on Cactus. An essential, core, "user friendly" title for personal, professional, and academic horticultural and gardening reference collections, The Cactus Family is profusely illustrated with color photography. Additionally, The Cactus Family is enhanced with an informative foreword by Wilhelm Barthlott; a chapter on cactus cultivation by Roger Brown; an appendices of maps; a second appendices "Two Botanic Gardens and Herbaria with Significant Collections of Cacti; a glossary; literature citation; an index of scientific names, and an index of common names.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!! Cactus lover's new bible.
Review: Fuggedaboutit! This recently published work is quite simply the greatest single volume treatment of the Cactus family. Although expensive, I believe you will treasure this book in much the same way that you treasure your cacti collection. A wealth of knowledge expressed in terms a non-scientist can understand, yet also greatly useful to the serious scholar. Please read the other reviews. Much enthusiasm.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!! Cactus lover's new bible.
Review: Fuggedaboutit! This recently published work is quite simply the greatest single volume treatment of the Cactus family. Although expensive, I believe you will treasure this book in much the same way that you treasure your cacti collection. A wealth of knowledge expressed in terms a non-scientist can understand, yet also greatly useful to the serious scholar. Please read the other reviews. Much enthusiasm.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment!
Review: Less than 50% of the described species has a photograph.
Actual photos are small in size.
No cultivation tips at all!
Good for botanists, less for amateur cactus growers.
Rating:
Summary: We needed this book
Review: Most people like cacti in some way, this is a book that was need not only for those who work in sience, but to general people, it is full with interesting infromation, it has great pictures, and I thik the most important part is that deals with the whole cactus family no book have ever did this before, this is a must have book for experts and beginers. Too much information... all in one book
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference for those avid in the hobby of cacti
Review: This book is a comprehensive reference of cacti. It contains desciptions of most all the species within each genus. It also has a fairly a good section in the front of the book about the origins and botany of cacti. There are pictures for about half of the listings, though because this is more of reference books they are relatively small. Also very helpful, each listing has the previous or other accepted botanical names for each species.
Rating:
Summary: Dr Anderson - Where have you been all my Life?
Review: This is the ultimate book for any serious cactus collector and grower. Although at first glance it seems daunting in the extreme, a sudden epiphany of understanding dawns as one reads through the book. Written by a scientist and true enthusiast, this book is exhaustive in its desctriptions and naming of cacti, even to the point of honesty, when Dr Anderson explains that many families of cacti are less well understood than others. This book has many scientific and true botanical references in it, but unlike many authors who believe (wrongly) that the reader will possess the same knowledge, Dr Anderson explains all this in great detail at the beginning of the book, with all the nomenclatures the reader and enthusiast is going to be encountering in later chapters. The photographs are stunning and comprehensive, the various different habitat each plant grows in is described, and the very important issue of conservation of valuable species is tackled in a topical and masterful manner. The exact care of each and every plant is not displayed together with its photograph, but at the beginning of the book, and all other aspects of care, from soil, sterilisation of tools, pots, eradication of pests and so on, can also be found there. The very simple but concise drawings of the anatomy of the cactus flower in general are wonderfully understandable, and in the later photgraphic section, any doubts the grower may have about a particular cactus are dispelled by the flower description, from stem to size and colour. There is also a glossary of botanical terms at the end of the book, so there is never a section in the book where the reader is blinded by scientific jargon. I would recommend this book to any seriously interested collector of cacti - the definitive book, in my opinion.
| 
