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Binding: Turtleback
Brand: Liberty Mountain
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.097
EAN: 9780618574230
ISBN: 0618574239
Item Dimensions: 100
Label: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
MPN: PB618574239
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 392
Publication Date: April 14, 2005
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Studio: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Features:- ISBN13: 9780618574230
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Roger Tory Peterson had already made his mark with his innovative field guide when he conducted DDT research during World War II. His friend and fellow naturalist Rachel Carson built on these efforts and eventually wrote Silent Spring, a landmark text tha
Amazon.com Review:
World-renowned birder Kenn Kaufman addresses a long-running paradox of bird field guides with his Focus Guide. While beginning birdwatchers prefer photographic guides like those by Donald Stokes, the physical traits that make identification easier are more readily discerned in the idealized paintings of illustrative guides like those by Roger Tory Peterson and National Geographic. Kaufman's groundbreaking work combines the best of both approaches by digitally enhancing photographic images to show the characteristics that are sometimes not apparent in photographs.
Some other distinguishing features include: - The guide is organized by bird family groupings rather than strict taxonomic classification; this is a feature that will appeal especially to beginners.
- Text descriptions and range maps for each species appear on the page facing the plate of respective bird images.
- Important field marks are highlighted.
- Color-coded tabs identify each grouping of birds (waders, warblers, sparrows, etc.) for quick thumb indexing.
Kaufman's efforts follow the auspicious tradition of Roger Tory Peterson, whose portable field guide system was the first of its kind to meet the needs of the average birdwatcher. "It's the guide I've always wanted," says Kaufman, "and I suspect most birders will feel the same way."
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I am a professional bird photographer and this is my primary go to guide for bird identification. Each of the major guide books (e.g., Kaufman, Sibley, National Geographic) -- I own all of them -- but I find Kaufman to have the best organization, the best information to aid in identification, and I find it easiest to identify based on photos rather than drawings. It is always good to confirm identifications with a second (or third) source as there are a lot of subtleties in the identification in many of the bird species; for this I usually use the Sibley guides. I don't like Sibley as much for my primary source for two reasons: 1) the drawings lack the detail of the images in Kaufman, and 2) there is a East and West edition of Sibley and since my time is divided between the East and West coasts I have to lug two books around rather than the single Kaufman that covers the entire US. Another very useful bird identification tool is [...] as well as the iPhone iBird family of apps (I am one of the staff photographers for these latter guides).
Rating: -
Kenn Kaufman's birding field guide is the best one out there, We know because we have had one since it first came out. This purchase was for a gift and the book's condition was perfect and the prompt service appreciated,
Rating: -
My wife is an amateur bird watcher. She loves nature and has developed an interest in becoming more knowledegable about the wildlife in our area. She had a Bird Watching book but it was older and lacked pictures of the birds. I bought this book based on providing the pictures that she sought.
She has had the book for a month now and uses it frequently. She is very happy with the picture quality and coverage. We live in the Chicago area. For the price, this was an EXCELLENT Value and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating: -
Previous reviewers have commented on the beauty of the computer-enhanced pictures, and with this I fully agree. Thumbing through several bird guides before deciding on this one, I found the pictures to be of superior quality. Even if they are over-idealized, this itself may be a useful feature for the beginner (a possible over-enhancement to make the point).
The content of the book should offer sufficient depth without sacrificing portability, and this is true of this book. It is reasonably priced. You get a lot of bang for your buck. Each species of bird has a short-paragraph description.
The book is divided into color-tabbed chapters according to everyday groupings (not necessarily strict taxonomic groupings). This allows for a quick placing of most birds into readily-identifiable categories. As several previous reviewers have pointed out, the range maps are outstanding. An index of bird names is provided in the back, and a box is provided next to each bird name, enabling the reader/birder to check off the names of each bird seen during a lifetime of observation, especially as one travels across North America.
Rating: -
I ordered two of these guides. One for me and one for a birthday gift for a friend. I like it very much.
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