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Rating: 
Summary: Flora and Fauna Detailed in Rich Field Guide
Review: I bought this book to take on family hikes. Whether your interests are as general as that, or whether you are inclined toward serious plant/animal identification, this book should be helpful.It is oriented toward quick identification. The pictures are clear, colorful, and though small, should enable many matches out in the field. Although the write-ups are brief, and don't go much further beyond identification and some basic facts like location, there are occasionally some additional helpful information. For example, the section on mushrooms clearly identifies which ones are poisonous and deadly poisonous. The book has some additional chapters on parks in the region. It is well organized. I would imagine that for weekend walkers, this field guide might be the only one you'll ever need.
Rating:
Summary: Flora and Fauna Detailed in Rich Field Guide
Review: I bought this book to take on family hikes. Whether your interests are as general as that, or whether you are inclined toward serious plant/animal identification, this book should be helpful. It is oriented toward quick identification. The pictures are clear, colorful, and though small, should enable many matches out in the field. Although the write-ups are brief, and don't go much further beyond identification and some basic facts like location, there are occasionally some additional helpful information. For example, the section on mushrooms clearly identifies which ones are poisonous and deadly poisonous. The book has some additional chapters on parks in the region. It is well organized. I would imagine that for weekend walkers, this field guide might be the only one you'll ever need.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly useful
Review: The strength of this guide is definitely its breadth, not its depth. This is an asset for curious people who don't want to lug around 10 separate identification books for plants, insects, snakes, etc. It also makes it more readable than your average single-subject field guide; my husband has read it cover-to-cover!
We discovered this book on a friend's bookshelf and after we gave it back we kept finding ourselves wishing we had it along on hikes. Although we are fairly knowledgeable, outdoorsy people, but there's always something new we want to look up. Now that we have our own copy, we pack this book when we want to travel light, and it has been surprising how many times we could find what we were looking for, or come close enough to greatly speed further research when we got home.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent - albeit basic - field guide
Review: This book is a good introductory field guide to the region. As expected from an Audobon Society book, the photographs are top-notch. Sections on topography, habitats, the night sky, and area parks and preserves are particularly helpful. The flora and fauna identification sections don't go into a lot of detail, but will allow you to identify most common plants and animals. I can see where this would be helpful to scouts and young adults in particular. However, I was disappointed that the book wasn't a bit more comprehensive. Obviously, as a portable field guide, it can't cover every single species. But in our area (northern Virginia) we have so many more butterflies and other insects that this book simply does not include. In some cases, I had to refer to the Audobon Field Guide for *Florida* to find a particular species. And with crayfish all over the creekbeds of this area, their omission under the crustacean section just seems strange. That said, I would still recommend this book as a basic field guide. It does provide good background information on the area, and the photos are spectacular. Just don't expect to identify everything you see with it -- you'll need to do further research on your own.
Rating:
Summary: A decent - albeit basic - field guide
Review: This book is a good introductory field guide to the region. As expected from an Audobon Society book, the photographs are top-notch. Sections on topography, habitats, the night sky, and area parks and preserves are particularly helpful. The flora and fauna identification sections don't go into a lot of detail, but will allow you to identify most common plants and animals. I can see where this would be helpful to scouts and young adults in particular. However, I was disappointed that the book wasn't a bit more comprehensive. Obviously, as a portable field guide, it can't cover every single species. But in our area (northern Virginia) we have so many more butterflies and other insects that this book simply does not include. In some cases, I had to refer to the Audobon Field Guide for *Florida* to find a particular species. And with crayfish all over the creekbeds of this area, their omission under the crustacean section just seems strange. That said, I would still recommend this book as a basic field guide. It does provide good background information on the area, and the photos are spectacular. Just don't expect to identify everything you see with it -- you'll need to do further research on your own.
Rating:
Summary: The one book to carry in the woods.
Review: This series has answered a long outstanding need ... an one volume field guide that you can actually carry into the field. As a birder, I still carry a more detailed bird guide such as National Geographic or Peterson's. But I'm always running across a flower or tree or animal I'm curious about. This guide is the ideal second volume carry with you since it explains the the most common things you'll run across in areas other than your primary interest. Another valuable use is for leaders of youth groups, such as Scout leaders. As a Scout leader myself, I'm always being asked by the boys to help them identify a salamander or other animal. This guide allows you to do this in the field wihhout having to carry a whole library of field guides in your pack. In addition, by being regional guides they eliminate the things you won't find in an area, such as saguarro cactus in New Jersey. In sum, the appropriate book from this series is a good reference to carry with you as you explore the outdoors in your part of the USA.
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