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National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States: Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah (Audubon Field Guide) Flexibound – September 21, 1999
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Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
Filled with concise descriptions and stunning photographs, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States belongs in the home of every resident of the Southwest and in the suitcase or backpack of every visitor. This compact volume contains:
An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;
A complete overview of the southwestern region's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns, and the night sky;
An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, mountains, forests, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others.
The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 9 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as more than 100 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals.
For everyone who lives or spends time in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, or Utah, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States.
An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;
A complete overview of the southwestern region's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns, and the night sky;
An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, mountains, forests, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others.
The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 9 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as more than 100 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals.
For everyone who lives or spends time in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, or Utah, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States.
About the Author
Peter Alden, principal author of this series, is a birder, naturalist, author, and lecturer. He has led nature tours to more than 100 countries and is the author of books on North American, Latin American, and African wildlife. Peter organized an event called Biodiversity Day, the first of which took place in his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts.
Peter Friederici, author of the habitats, conservation and ecology, and parks and preserves sections of this guide, is a writer and field biologist who contributes articles and essays to many national and regional periodicals. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Peter Friederici, author of the habitats, conservation and ecology, and parks and preserves sections of this guide, is a writer and field biologist who contributes articles and essays to many national and regional periodicals. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.
More About the Author
Peter Alden, principal author of this series, is a birder, naturalist, author, and lecturer. He has led nature tours to more than 100 countries and is the author of books on North American, Latin American, and African wildlife. Peter organized an event called Biodiversity Day, the first of which took place in his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts.Rick Cech, author of several sections of this guide, is a nature writer, photographer, and founder of the North American Butterfly Association's newsletter, The Anglewing.Gil Nelson, regional consultant and author of the habitats, flora, and parks and preserves sections of this guide, is a naturalist, writer, and educator who has contributed articles to many national and regional magazines. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By
A Customer
on November 29, 1999
Format: Flexibound
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I love this series! I've singled out Southwestern just because I've been there recently and will be there again soon, but my comments here are more directed to the series as a whole.
These books are a wonderful introduction to natural history and identification. The information, though very condensed, is much more enjoyably presented here than it was in many a dull college "-ology" course. Overall, I agree with the New England guide publisher's comments about the series as a beginning to a more in-depth appreciation of natural history.
My gripes--and they are very small in comparison to the general usefulness and many great aspects of the guides--are actually with the comprehensiveness, which in some cases may lead to misidentification or confusion. It seems that the most common, conspicuous, and obvious species are generally included (good!), but there are some additions which might better have been excluded, or at least qualified: is the average person really going to be able to correctly identify, say, blue or skipper butterflies (only a couple of species included) or Brewer's and winter Chipping sparrows with the information in this book? The tougher ID's involved here take more skill and experience than the average person is likely to have, and the guide usually doesn't even caution the reader that this is so. I think it would have been better to at least alert the reader (in the proper places) that not all ID's are easy and that even experts sometimes have trouble, et cetera, just to clear things up. The only place I've yet noticed anything like this caution is the gulls ("confusing array of plumages").Read more ›
These books are a wonderful introduction to natural history and identification. The information, though very condensed, is much more enjoyably presented here than it was in many a dull college "-ology" course. Overall, I agree with the New England guide publisher's comments about the series as a beginning to a more in-depth appreciation of natural history.
My gripes--and they are very small in comparison to the general usefulness and many great aspects of the guides--are actually with the comprehensiveness, which in some cases may lead to misidentification or confusion. It seems that the most common, conspicuous, and obvious species are generally included (good!), but there are some additions which might better have been excluded, or at least qualified: is the average person really going to be able to correctly identify, say, blue or skipper butterflies (only a couple of species included) or Brewer's and winter Chipping sparrows with the information in this book? The tougher ID's involved here take more skill and experience than the average person is likely to have, and the guide usually doesn't even caution the reader that this is so. I think it would have been better to at least alert the reader (in the proper places) that not all ID's are easy and that even experts sometimes have trouble, et cetera, just to clear things up. The only place I've yet noticed anything like this caution is the gulls ("confusing array of plumages").Read more ›
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By
Mike Ricciuti
on October 11, 1999
Format: Flexibound
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if you plan to visit the southwest and spend any time outdoors. Indispensable for hiking trips, but equally useful for finding national parks, etc. Full of interesting info on geology, history, and, of course, wildlife. Top-notch printing and it's well written, too....
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By
Book at Me Now
on May 23, 2003
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this is the one to take! Like carrying a park ranger in your backpack to help you know what you are looking at. Trees and wildflowers, animals of the land, sky and water, minerals, stars of the night sky. Increase your knowledge and understanding of the beautiful places you visit and your own backyard. Check out the Audubon Field Guides to Florida and other regions as well. Well worth the money. Lots of color photographs and well organized for easy use.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By
simpcity
on June 9, 2002
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This is a delight to come home to after a walk or a trip to the river. I try to bring a wildflower home to check out in the book, and am never let down.
While it seems almost an impossible undertaking to include four very large states in one book, in fact the Range guide helps focus the book quite a bit.
As an artifact, the book is well made and should last some time.
While it seems almost an impossible undertaking to include four very large states in one book, in fact the Range guide helps focus the book quite a bit.
As an artifact, the book is well made and should last some time.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
Kathy Smith
on September 25, 2007
Format: Flexibound
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Just returned from a tour of the Southwest. The field guide was easy to use. I liked the fact that it covered so many aspects of the Southwest and eliminated having to tote five or six field guides to cover most of the subject matter.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By
Kent Baker
on September 15, 2005
Format: Flexibound
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This is a good book to have along as you explore the beauty of the region. It is not very comprehensive, but then if it was it would not be small enough to carry with you in the field, which would defeat its purpose. I feel it is well worth the price and will use it on my upcoming venture into the Southwest this October. I will also take several other books on the Southwest because each provides additional information for this region. It's not possible to get all the reference information in one volume, but this is a great book if you can only have one, and it is small enough to carry along on hikes or explorations. It is also bound properly for field use, an important feature.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
Brianna Mae
on September 17, 2010
Format: Flexibound
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I live in Chandler, Arizona and often go hiking and camping in all parts of the state. There have been many times I've found an insect, plant, or bird that I've so badly wanted to identify. I've taken this book with me on many, many occasions and it has come in hand magnificently. It gives warnings about dangerous plants/animal/bugs/and other things to be on the look out for. It also includes a guide to the night skies, depending on the season. The first 80 pages are packed full of information about the southwestern states, then it goes into Fungi, Invertebrates, Spiders, Insects, Birds and sooo much more! It's an extremely informative book!!
The only negative comment I have is that it seriously lacks on the spiders that Arizona has to offer. It includes only about 8 subspecies of spiders, when Arizona has so much more than that. It doesn't include anything about the Brown Recluse Spider, which can be quite deadly...
The only negative comment I have is that it seriously lacks on the spiders that Arizona has to offer. It includes only about 8 subspecies of spiders, when Arizona has so much more than that. It doesn't include anything about the Brown Recluse Spider, which can be quite deadly...
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By
susanne ranseen
on July 22, 2012
Format: Flexibound
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I purchased this book in connection to doing my field research for my thesis. I had planned to use it to help identify plants in a burn area. It was almost completely useless to me. The photographs where too small to clearly identify plants and they where fuzzy at times so you could not identify the object you where looking at. The description of plants where brief but unclear about where they are other then which state. Trust me when you are looking at grasses it helps to know that they are in a certain elevation at least. I was able to use it for identifying only two plants and a few animals but otherwise it was just a weight in my backpack.
If you want an easy book for a day hike so you can id a few plants and animals this is your book but if you want something for serious work don't purchase this. I am so glad I purchased other field guides and this was my back up.
If you want an easy book for a day hike so you can id a few plants and animals this is your book but if you want something for serious work don't purchase this. I am so glad I purchased other field guides and this was my back up.
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