It's true that I was not particularly enthusiastic about Anna Pavord when I mentioned her book, mostly because it is indeed a coffee table book, in the familiar form of a plant encylopedia, but in no way as comprehensive as John Bryan's book, which I imagine most serious bulb gardeners own. It might be just the thing for more casual bulb growers, though, particularly in the UK. If you're not familiar with Pavord, she writes for the Independent: http://independent.co.uk/life-style/… Although it pains me to recommend a website in lieu of a book, the best hing I have read this year is the Biodiversity Heritage Library. A joint project of several libraries including MOBOT, Kew, and NYBG, it has many texts of horticultural interest that are difficult to find in printed form these days. The scans are by Internet Archive, which I find generally superior to Google Books (and the involvement of actual librarians ensures enough metadata to find what you are looking for). It is easier to navigate than MOBOT's previous efforts along these lines. I'm currently enjoying Reginald Farrer's Alpin Plants, or trying to in electronic form. Now, if only someone could figure out how to make reading a book on a computer less irritating... http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ Best, Max Withers Oakland CA Message: 3 Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:16:29 -0800 From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> Subject: [pbs] How about some book notes? To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Message-ID: <E1N9TeC-0005EP-WE@elasmtp-spurfowl.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed I'm helping obtain copy for our PBS newsletter, the Bulb Garden, and would like to include some brief reviews of recently published books about bulbs. If you'd like to say something about some recent title, please either post it here with the understanding that it will be published in the newsletter, or send it directly to me. The only new book I've noticed is Anna Pavord's new coffee-table book on bulbs, which was mentioned without much enthusiasm in this forum a while ago. Thanks much, Jane McGary