Review by Choice Review
It is difficult to determine the intended readership for this spectacular book, or precisely what Rodd (horticultural botanist) and Stackhouse (horticulturist and garden writer) are trying to accomplish. The work's primary strength is the stunning photography, featuring a wide variety of images of individual tree species as well as habitat photos. As a coffee-table book of trees, it will have few rivals. But is a book of beautiful tree pictures a "visual guide"? When botanical processes such as reproduction and photosynthesis are discussed, textbook-style cartoons are bizarrely juxtaposed with the works of photographic artistry that give the book its real value. The content is written at about a junior high school level, with chapters treating different aspects of trees including diversity, morphology, biomes, and economic aspects. This volume may not be appropriate for academic libraries, although biology instructors may find it useful for illustrative material. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers/libraries. R. Gilmour Ithaca College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
This is a beautifully photographed visual guide to one of the most important resources of the natural world. The authors are Australian botanists who live and work in Sydney. Rodd was the first horticultural botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, and Stackhouse is editor of the magazine Gardening Australia, an offshoot of the television show by the same name. The book is divided by chapters describing the form, types, location, and use of the many varieties of trees. Each page has a column or more of text enhanced with color photographs. The two pages on the ginkgo have photos of the tree in fall, a magnified photo of the stomata, an X-ray of the leaf, and pictures of the seed with and without the coating of the kernel. Although this should not be considered an identification guide, there is a section entitled Remarkable Trees of the World where 99 trees are described by height, type, occurrence, habitat, division, and family. Additional text discusses the unique features of each variety and is illustrated with either a photograph of the tree, flowers, or leaves. Supplementary material includes a Factfile, which has illustrations of tree, leaf, flower, and fruit shapes, and small maps showing the types and major forests of the world. There are also four pages of charts describing the largest families and genera of trees. The volume concludes with a short glossary and an index. The text is clear and written in nontechnical language. Recommended for either the reference or circulating collection in academic public libraries.--Bulson, Christine Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
