Product Description

Filled with concise descriptions and stunning photographs, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England belongs in the home of every New England resident 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 region's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;

A complete overview of New England's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky;

An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, 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, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals.

For everyone who lives or spends time in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, or Vermont, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127954 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-26
• Released on: 1998-05-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Turtleback
• 448 pages

Amazon.com Review
If you're under the impression that the Northeast's natural beauty has given way to high-rises, condominiums, and suburban sprawl, this volume will certainly change your mind. In actuality, the area comprising Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont--New England, in short--is home to an abundance of flora and fauna, whether it be marine life below sea level or alpine meadows above the tree line. In fact, New England is nothing less than a naturalist's paradise. Much of the area has been scoured by glacial ice, leaving behind cirques, arêtes, and a fjord, all of which are featured in a geology section. Fossils are highlighted too, alerting readers to the presence of dinosaur footprints in both Hadley, Massachusetts and Rocky Hill, Connecticut. In addition, an easy-to-use field guide assists readers in the identification of 1,000 of the area's current inhabitants, including giant puffball mushrooms, a healthy sampling of conifers and hardwoods, and five species of shark. Field trip ideas, from secluded Baxter State Park (no paved roads, no hook-ups, no gas or groceries) to popular Acadia National Park in Maine, complete the picture. All this is compiled in a single volume that's perfect for both armchair naturalists and those planning actual trips to the area.

From the Inside Flap
Filled with concise descriptions and stunning photographs, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England belongs in the home of every New England resident 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 region's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;

A complete overview of New England's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky;

An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, 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, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals.

For everyone who lives or spends time in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, or Vermont, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England.

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 for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lindblad Travel, Friends of the Harvard Musum of Natural History, and cruises on all the world's oceans. Author of books on North American, Latin American, and African wildlife, Peter organized an event called Biodiversity Day in his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts.

Brian Cassie, author of the habitats, parks and preserves, and other sections of this guide, writes and teaches about natural history. He is the co-author of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England. Brian lives with his family in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Informative and useful
This guide is by no means comprehensive, but it does contain good photos and descriptions of the flora and fauna you are most likely to encounter in New England, along with geography and astronomy tidbits, too. What it adds up to is a highly useful and convenient guide; to paraphrase the beer commercial, it's the field guide to bring when you just want to bring one!

Still, if you're specifically into birds or mammals or trees only, you'd be better off getting the field guide for that specific genre, as this guide won't have enough detailed info for you.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England
I have waited all my life for a nature handbook such as this! So many questions I've had were answered in this book. (ie. what DOES poison sumac really look like? Or, is that REALLY just a milk snake -- or could it be poisonous?)Beautiful pictures, and clearly written, informative sections provide excellent information for nature lovers of every age. This book would be a welcome addition to every New Englander's home library and is small enough to be easily portable for hiking etc. I found myself wanting to give one to everyone I know, from grandchildren to grandparents!

An excellent concise and compact field guide to New England.
I've been searching for a book like this for the past two years. It contains information on the different types of habitats, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, trees, lichen, wildflowers, mammals (...the list goes on) found in the New England area. It even has a collection of star maps for people who are also interested in the New England night sky. The information is well laid out and easy to read and is accompanied by detailed color diagrams and photos. What I like best about this book though is I no longer have to carry around 5 different field guides when I go out hiking now. I only need to carry this one.