Re: Any Good Aquatic Plants Book?

[Wright Huntley <huntley1 at home_com>]

> Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 09:15:19 -0500 (EST)
> From: busko at stsci_edu (Ivo Busko)
> Subject: Re: Any Good Aquatic Plants Book?
> 
> Kean Huat Yeap wrote:
> 
> >Hi! I'm thinking about getting a complete and good
> >aquatic plants book which covers plants care,
> >propagation, good pictures and etc.
> >
> >Can you guys please suggest a couple books to me?
> >
> >I'm thinking of getting
> >Aquarium Plants: Their Identification, Cultivation and
> >Ecology
> >by Karel Rataj and  Thomas J. Horeman
> >
> >Is this book good enough?
> >
> >Any suggestion is appreciated.
> 
> I had a chance of reading Rataj & Horeman's book on loan from a friend.
> The best plant book I've seen so far. It's not flashy, many pictures are
> in black and white. But as reference material, it's superb. It describes
> a lot of plant species and gives information about their natural habitat
> as well, something I found difficult to find anywhere else. Definiteley
> worth the price IMHO.
> 
> - -Ivo Busko
>  Baltimore, MD

I go with Ivo on this one. I've had it for years. I get tired of hearing the
bad-mouthing about this book, when it actually is pretty useful. Yes, it
*is* dated, taxonomically, and may even have a mistake or two. That is true
of *all* such comprehensive works, without exception.

My 1977 edition (TFH) has, I think, more good color pictures than black and
white, and the ones without color often illustrate important points.

My principle point of getting infuriated is that TFH let an inexperienced
junior editor do layout and mix photos and index in such a way as to make
looking anything up an exercise in total frustration. [It even outdoes the
irritation caused by trying to figure which index to use in the various
English-language volumes of the Baensch Atlases! ;-)]

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679  huntleyone at home dot com

         "DEMOCRACY" is two wolves and a lamb voting on lunch.
     "LIBERTY" is a well-armed lamb denying enforcement of the vote.
             *** http://www.self-gov.org/index.html ***

---

• Prev by Date: Digital camera
• Next by Date: My Aquarium Hood adventure
• Prev by thread: Re: Any Good Aquatic Plants Book?
• Next by thread: Dark Green Short Hair Algae
• Index(es):
  • Date
  • Thread