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Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I have had the rare satisfaction of experiencing a manuscript about orchids that would be the envy of any writer on any subject, and a pictoral feast that certainly would put Keenan right up there as the Ansel Adams of orchids when it comes to photography.And somewhere up there Rachel Carson must be smiling down and thinking ,"Well done Mr. Keenan", for, like Carson, Keenan has great concern for our voyage through time on our spaceship earth and, in a most disarming manner, alerts us to our ecological responsibilities without being overbearing about it.This is not just about orchids - it's about life.
Rating:
Summary: Keenan¿s descriptive prose is a fitting complement for his b
Review: Memoirs and travelogues have long been a popular vehicle for sharing personal experiences on a wide variety of subjects. Most natural history tomes of this type are very general and have little specific information to generate vivid images for the reader. Not so with Philip Keenan's assemblage of more than two decades of traveling throughout most of North America in search of many of the wild orchids of that continent. Keenan's descriptive prose is a fitting complement for his brilliant full-color images of wild orchids taken in situ from coast to coast. Having accompanied him on many of these forays I can say that each vignette or anecdote brings me back to the day of discovery! For those who have not been there, his photographs will give you a taste of what can be waiting for you. Both the very rare and the frequent and familiar are treated with the same reverence and respect. For those who have lived in the Northeast the wide-spread pink lady's-slipper is still be to admired as much as the rapidly decreasing fairy-slipper. Keenan takes us to such diverse places as Newfoundland, Alaska (and its breathtaking Kodiak Island), the pinelands of New Jersey, and the open savannas of southeastern North Carolina. A few days in the 'sky islands' of southeastern Arizona yield several sought-after species. Although not a rabid 'life-lister' as are so many in various natural history fields, Keenan appreciates each new species and joins many of us in completing the study of all species within a genus. This volume is both an excellent addition to the native orchidist's library or a perfect gift for anyone who appreciates nature. I can think of no other book on native orchids, or wildflowers in general, that would be as ideal as a first volume to intrigue and infect someone with an appreciation for the natural world around them. PMB
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