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| Wildflowers of Minnesota: Field Guide | 
| Author: Stan Tekiela
Publisher: Adventure Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $10.18
You Save: $6.77 (40%)
New (4) Collectible (1) from $10.18
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 249241
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 423
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 6 x 4.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 1885061633
Dewey Decimal Number: 590
EAN: 9781885061638
ASIN: 1885061633
Publication Date: April 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: This book is brand new. US Student Edition. Orders ship out within 24 hours.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good for Beginners But Low on Detail September 13, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a good book for beginners. Identification is based on flower color, which is easy to follow but sometimes ambiguous (e.g., what Tekiela considers pink, I might consider purple). I was able to quickly and easily learn many plant species using this book.
Now that I know am pretty knowledgeable of Minnesota flora, I don't use this book as much. He doesn't have all the wildflowers of Minnesota, and additional details I would like to learn about each species are missing.
I recommend this book to beginners. It is much easier to use and less intimidating than the average botany book. More advanced botanists will be better off with something more detailed.
 Poorly Researched, Poorly Crafted February 23, 2004
8 out of 15 found this review helpful
Unfortunately there is no "zero stars" option for reviews of this monstrous disgrace to field guides. My criticism is two fold. First, this book is a carbon copy of every book Mr. Takiela has ever written, just like his bird book series, and are the same regardless of the state mentioned in the title. Oh sure, he mixes it up a little, but the pictures are the same and the books have the same generic blandness in the text that no one dishes out like Mr. Takiela. A botanical field guide should show the unique, as well as the common features of a state's flora and should contain detailed location and habitat information. None of Takiela's books have this. Rather, his descriptions and comments could refer as much to my backyard here in Missouri as they could what Takiela perceives as the natural communities of Minnesota. He and his publisher are simply cookie cutting books and dispensing them upon an audiance that might, had they not bought his book, found something of interest and inspiration in nature. My second criticism, which rivals the first and further exemplifies the concern and craftsmanship of both writter and publisher, is the extremely poor quaility of the book. Fresh off the shelf the spine cracks and splits as it is opened. After one day in the field, the crusty inflexible glue used to hold the heavily glossed pages together had splintered and chunks of pages became loose and the edges of the book no longer "flip-able". By a second day of use the pages were completely free and ready to be lost or further damaged. This from a user that charishes and collects botany books.
Bottomline, I am in awe of this book or rather I am in awe of all Takiela books for their ability to negetively transend quality and integrity and reduce an otherwise noble pursuit to a complete waste of time and money. Thank you, Mr. Takeila for lowering the bar.
If a nice field guide to plants in your area is of interest to you, the reader of my ramblings, may I suggest a Falcon Guide or any publisher that seeks reputable botanist to construct meaningful works. While it can be difficult to find a comprehensive field guide, anything is better than the Takiela series.
Great Book for Identification of Native Wildflowers May 18, 2000
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This book has arranged the plants according to the color of their flowers, the most obvious characteristic. The book is sectioned into areas for all colors (white, yellow, blue, pink, red, etc.). If a plant flowers in more than one color, it is shown in each color area. The color photos show excellent examples of the plant. The only drawback to using this book would be if the plant is not flowering. Other plant characteristics are listed with the pictures, but it would be difficult to locate a specific species if the flower color was unknown.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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