Lichens of the North Woods (Naturalist Series)

I live in what I call the north woods, but our woods are in Idaho, not Minnesota. Still, I like the book enough that I will keep it and hope that the local lichens here will at least resemble the pictures in the book! The lichens are organized by the surface they grow on: ground, rocks and trees, and within those, by type: crustose, foliose, and fruticose. This is well written, beautifully illustrated. Each lichen is described in terms of its habit, appearance, chemistry, and similar species. Each lichen is also accompanied by a "nature note" which gives additional interesting information. I am taking this and my hand lens outside, to a huge rock in front of our house to see if I can identify any of the many different lichens that live on the rock. I've been a lichen fan since the age of 8!

This book is excellent. The contents are great. We did receive a copy with a binding among the worst I've seen. Pages cracked away from glue in spine as soon as the book was opened. However - the problem was due to an error on the part of the printer, and the publisher made good on the situation by sending a replacement copy. Thumbs up to the publisher!! (I still think a hard cover edition of this is warranted....)

An excellent regional Lichen field guide that is highly useful well beyond the "north woods" (it has helped me ID lichens in southern NH)! Well organized with concise easily understandable text and really excellent color photographs plus illustrations, it is both a practical guide and just plain delightful to read and look through - again and again. The "Nature Note" with each of its 111 species species adds fun tidbits. At a practical pocket-sized 4.5 x 8.25 inches, both amateur and advanced naturalists will readily use this reference in the field and at home lab desk.

I had a copy of this book several years ago and lost it, so I was very pleased to find it on Amazon. It's a terrific little book and I used it on nature walks with groups of elementary and middle school children. They loved it and became quite good at finding the different kinds of lichens on the property at the YMCA. (You would be surprised at how many there are!) I can recommend this book with its beautiful color pictures to anyone who wants to learn about lichens.SMRichmond, VA

This is a pocket guide, easy to carry. But here's the secret -- it's wondrously smart and lively. As others have said, the layout and the photographs are great. The prose is engaging and well-informed and clear Walewski makes his reader understand many of the extraordinary implications of the lichen symbiosis. There are many superb lichen books (Brodo and Sharnoffs, for example) but this little guide holds its own.

The Good: Excellent content, especially for individuals new to the world of lichens (not overly technical like many lichen resources). Very well structured, although based on the organization, some of the genera are split up between different sections. The "similar species" notes are quite helpful.The Bad: Almost immediately after opening the guide, the pages began to separate from the binding (see photo). Seems that the first 30-40 pages were very poorly attached to the book, and were dislodged simply by turning them. While I'm thrilled with the content, the poor book construction is very disappointing.

Even though I live in Texas, there are many of the same lichens here and this book is helping me to learn about them. I was concerned when the book arrived and I saw how "small" it was...I couldn't imagine it would cover enough of the subject. But it covers plenty, and the photos and info are well done and user friendly. Glad to have it!

This slim, pocket-sized book is a gem! If you want a good basic education in lichens of the northern forests, this is it. Excellent photographs and descriptions as well as wonderful commentary about many of the lichens. The layout is fabulous and so easy to use. I recommend this wholeheartedly to anyone with an interest in the vast subject area. You gotta love lichens and you gotta love this author who loves them too!