Science Nature Books

Honestly, this is the best photography text book I've read in a long time. It was the recommended book in a nature class this past summer. I agree with the instructor, its explanation of exposure is the best out there. I've recommended it to many people. The authors website is invaluable as well. I tried in the field what I learned and have now changed my technique. The author is succinct in his explanations and shares his personal views and technical data in a clear and meaningful way. Amazon also had the best price and I received it within 2 days.

It's not an easy task to write a book capable of nurturing the creative spirit, but this wonderful book by John and Barbara Gerlach succeeds in just such an endeavor. My photographs have improved already! This is a book that emphasizes field technique above all other aspects of photography. Get out of the house, into the wild, enjoy life, and take some great pictures. This book will show you how if you don't already know. Strongly recommended for amateur photographers, hobbyists, and semi-pros looking to perfect their technique and maybe learn a little about the world outside the home.

This book has so much useful information and great tips! I started reading this book last week and I can't put it down. It seems to go into more detail about many subjects than other photography books that i have read.ex. working of camera, metering your camera,tips for better photography, how to keep your lenses clean, all sorts of stuff you should know! Really Great Book! Its to bad that they didn't start writing books years ago! Oh- yea, and the pictures are really great too.

I just completed a nature/landscape photography class at an area community college. The intructor showed us the book and thought it was good. I certainly agree with him. I found the book to be FANTASTIC and well worth the money. By the way, by purchasing it through Amazon I got it much cheaper that I could have at other major book distributors directly.

I attended the Gerlach's seminar 15 to 20 years ago and learned more from them than any other seminar or book. And their newest book is a fantastic continuation of their exceptional teaching skills. Techniques are insightful. Photographs are gorgeous, always improving over the years. Text is clear and concise, EXCEPT: FIRE THE EDITOR. The first few chapters are a mixture of typographical and grammatical errors, the phrasing is disorganized and distracting to the point of being almost unreadable, and they ramble.

Buy the book, but skim very quickly the first few chapters.

The book came in earlier than expected. However, the book was not near the description posted. It was said to be "Like New," but the textbook was quite worn in the corners and binding.

Our high school children found this to be a great adjunct for their science education. It's well written and has great graphics, so it keeps the attention and informs well in the process. We homeschool and use more specific texts at this level, but it is still a great overview.

I can't sing Hakim's praises enough - from her History of US series to the The Story of Science, all three volumes so far. I've been an avid science fan my whole life, but not a hard science major, and I gasped all the way through these books as I learned things I never knew, but thought I'd known, or finally understood things I'd known about but that had puzzled me. Get over the "distracting" sidebars - they didn't bother me at all and they were full of great stuff. I ate these books up and I was only reading them to preview for my homeschooler who hates math and is bored by science, but loves history. Joy Hakim has a wonderful ability to take a huge subject (all of US history, for instance, and the development and progress of scientific thought in this case) and make it manageable, new and a fun read. My daughter is discovering that science and math really are amazing and play a critical, pivotal role in the unfolding of human history.

My daughter is homeschooled, and after reading the entire History of US Series, I knew this science series would be a must. Honestly, I learned so much about US history than I ever learned in all my years of schooling through Ms. Hakim's books. Same with the "Story of Science" Series. Some may find the sidebars distracting, but we kind of made them into a separate lesson and learned a great deal of little-known facts. And it isn't only history or science - the author weaves a little bit of everything into these books in these sidebars. I really can't recommend her books enough. So far, they have been THE favorite resource in our four years of homeschooling!

Although I agree that the sidebars are distracting, the book is a delight--and not at all condescending or arrogant. My homeschool daughter and I tried skipping the sidebars and returning to them after we had finished the text proper. It didn't work because the sidebars give anecdotal information that works best when read with the text proper. I'm guessing Ms. Hakim went through the same thought process before deciding on the layout. I do question that the text is meant for middle school. Although Ms. Hakim does write "to" that age level, the subject matter may be more appropriate for high school and thus benefit from a less familiar (although still conversational) style. I hope that Ms. Hakim will provide workbooks to accompany the books eventually. And, we are all waiting for the world history via Hakim!

I notice that one negative review has been repeated on multiple Joy Hakim books verbatim.

I LIKE the sidebars and pictures. There is a ton of ART history and beautiful graphic design work in the books. Perhaps it is because my husband, son and I are all artists, but we particularly enjoyed the layout of the books. I felt a fusion of science with art in the presentation.

The history is sound, well presented, and detailed enough in scope to touch on mathmatical concepts supporting the science.

I'd reccomend this book for lovers of science history and for older homeschoolers. It is a bit too serious for younger homeschoolers. To me, this is more a book for a older preteen or teen audience.

My newphew enjoys books, but this one was a homerun. My sister tells me that he is completely fascinated with this one. He is 5, but there is so much information in the book, I could see older kids enjoying it as well.

I really like this book. It is fun for my son because it is a pop-up, but at the same time it is also informative.

I am an elementary school teacher, currently teaching 4th grade. I ordered this book as a review of the various geographic elements in review for the NYS Science and SS assessments. Although this is not a book you can read together as a class (there are just too many small details to cover) I highly recommend this for a small group or independent work station. In order to fully utilize the book, I created questions that covered the various topics on each page which guided the students to explore the book and search for the answers. It is a fabulous learning tool and all of the other teachers who have seen this book keep asking me where I got it!!!!

Amazing is absolutely correct! This book is so full of fun facts! It was given to my sister at Christmas, and all of us adults gathered around and couldn't stop looking at and playing with it!

This book is very well done. It has *tons* of stuff to do. There are so many lift up tabs and pop ups that it will keep anyone busy for hours. The content is interesting enough for kids and adults. Highly recommend this book.

This was the primary textbook for a graduate conservation biology course I had. I found the book to be an enjoyable read and thought-provoking. However, the book's organization was at time muddled. A decent introduction to the field of conservation biology, but as a textbook, it falls short.

Essential of behavioral college students! The Brazilian Portuguese version has some problems with translation but nothing that prejudices the reading of this book. If you read Portuguese and English, choose the English one!

A well balanced, unique mix of ethology and sociobiology, with strong emphasis on the biologic and evolutionary sides of behaviour. It is concise but is easy reading. A must have, for those seriously interested in the field.

I love the illustrations in this book! Florian's paintings are beautiful, wacky, and full of details. The poems are awesome, as well. His poems are full of fascinating facts and they are fun to read. Love it!

I think Douglas Florian's new book, 'comets, stars, the moon and mars' is his most expressive yet.

Beginning with the poem "skywatch," two children look at the sky. The next poem is "the universe."

Die cut "planet" holes move the reader deeper and further through space. From "mercury" to "venus" to "the earth" to "the moon" the poems continue in order according to their distance from the Sun. Comets, black holes and the mystery of what lies beyond are also addressed. Florian's ability to weave facts and fun are on full display here.

The bright color palette echoes the amazing views from the Hubble space telescope. This generation of kids has grown up looking at Seymour Simon's books about the solar system and the Universe. They have seen the colors that are out there.

Check out the Harcourt page about the book and download Florian's Poetry Kit. The "Practical Poetry Pointers" are some of the most best tips for writing poetry with kids that I have ever seen.

You have Gotta-Have-It.

Unlike most science books out there, this one covers ALL the ground, from basic cell structure, to plant life, ecological systems, physics and chemistry. It is written in a VERY easy to read format with lots of extras, ideas for simple experiments and observations that can be made in your own home. For the home school parent or like me, the parent trying to educate their child in a failing school district, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

This is a hardback book with ample questions that can be answered by the student to make sure they did more than "skim the chapter." There is plenty of application knowledge and observational studies. Filled with bright and colorful drawings and pictures my son is actually excited about learning for the first time!

I wish I had the time to write all of the errors & problems I see with this text so far, but at this writing I'm only in chapter two & have to study twice as hard because so many of the "explanations" don't explaing anything at all! I have to search online or use Cliffs Study Solver.

For instance, when the text is attempting to explain balancing chemical equations (pg. 59) the give an example of an equation of the reactants, the equation of the resulting product, but they do not even touch on the way you need to think to see the math, a little further down they try to explain it, but I see consistantly that information needed right after a new concept is presesnted is either insufficient or is presented later, after more confusing info is thrown at you before the authors completley convey a concept.

I have also found errors, such as pg. 29, problem 1.29, We are asked to list the pure substances present in ice, liquid water and it's vapor. Well I didn't need chemistry to know the answer was water, but we are left complelety befuddeled with the texts inclusion of bromine!!

This is a hard subject, but with a clear text you could grasp all concepts. This text is ridiculously inept at clear explanations.

Most of the answers in the back and in the solution manual are incorrect. I've contacted the publisher about this problem and they just said that they would take note. They really should issue a free booklet of corrected answers. And the fact that students pay extra for the solution manual with incorrect answers is terrible. The explanations in the text are actually good - but it's useless to try working the problems if you can't check your answers! This text was a waste of money and most professors are switching back to Chang's Gen. Chem. text.