Best of
Guides

1968

Between Pacific Tides


Edward F. Ricketts - 1968
    Between Pacific Tides is a book for all who find the shore a place of excitement, wonder, and beauty, and an unsurpassed introductory text for both students and professionals.This book describes the habits and habitats of the animals that live in one of the most prolific life zones of the world--the rocky shores and tide pools of the Pacific Coast of the United States. The intricate and fascinating life processes of these creatures are described with affectionate care. The animals are grouped according to their most characteristic habitat, whether rocky shore, sandy beach, mud flat, or wharf piling, and the authors discuss their life history, physiology, and community relations, and the influence of wave shock and shifting tide level.Though the basic purpose and structure--and much of the text--of the book remain the same, content has been increased by about 20 percent; a multitude of changes and additios has been made in the text; the Annotated Systematic Index and General Bibliography have been updated and greatly expanded (now almost 2,300 entries); more than 200 new photographs and drawings have been incorporated; and an entirely new chapter has been added--a topical presentation of the several factors influencing distribution of organisms along the shore. This edition also includes John Steinbeck's Foreword to the 1948 edition.

Spiders and Their Kin


Herbert W. Levi - 1968
    With full-color pictures and readable text, this guide identifies representative species and describes:Their characteristics and habitsGrowth, courtship and enemiesWhere they are foundIncludes information on poisonous species and how to collect, preserve, and raise spiders.

Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories: A Manual of the Vascular Plants


Eric Hulten - 1968
    The book describes and illustrates all flowering plants and vascular cryptograms known to occur in Alaska, the Yukon, the Mackenzie District, and the eastern extremity of Siberia.Some 1,974 taxa, belonging to 1,559 species, occur in this region; all are described. For 1,735 of these, the book provides detailed description, nomenclature, plant drawing, and range maps. In each case, one map gives distribution in the Alaskan region; a second, on circumpolar projection, gives worldwide range. This volume is the first major flora to assemble such comprehensive range data and to provide such maps.An analytic key to all species described is provided for each genus, and there is an artificial key to families. An Introduction describes the past and present climatic, geologic, and ecologic character of the regions covered, the history of botanical collection in these regions, and the book's treatment of botanical and taxonomic details; and lists the plants of neighboring regions likely to occur. Glossary, plant authors' list, bibliography, and indexes are provided. The superb drawings were prepared by Dagny Tande-Lid, and eight pages of illustration in color are included.

Life Histories of North American Birds of Prey, Part 1


Arthur Cleveland Bent - 1968