[Odonata-l] Dennis Paulson's and other recent books

[azurebluet]

Hi Marion and all,

I also received my copy of "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West" yesterday and I wish to congratulate Dennis Paulson for putting together such a feast of a book. I couldn't wait until the kids were in bed so I could finally sit down and have a closer look. It is well written and designed and features the most comprehensive collection of photographs of western Odonata to date. With it's guidance I may yet be able to figure out those western Argia!

As someone who's main occupation is thinking about dragonfly field guides, it still amazes me how far they have come. I can recall a time when the only field guides available were Virginia Brown's Cape Cod and Sid Dunkle's Florida books. Then there was a little booklet from Algonquin Park, a stapled color guide to Wisconsin, and then Dunkle's extraordinary "Dragonflies Through Binoculars."  Now amid the disheveled stacks in my studio there are guides to Hawaiian damselflies, Alberta damselflies, Indiana, Ohio, British Columbia and the Yukon, Northeast Ohio, California, the Southwest, the North Woods, Massachusetts, California again, Texas, Alaska, a great Beginner's Guide. What have I forgotten? Had Bob DuBois and Mike Reese published "Damselflies of the North Woods" a few years earlier I needn't have bothered doing my damselfly book. 

I ordered three other guides this winter. The second edition of "Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeast Ohio" by Larry Rosche, Judy Semroc, Linda Gilbert and Jennifer Brumfield, is quite different from the first. It is now mainly a photographic guide. Although I am a big advocate of illustration, it is a vastly improved book and the large, beautifully reproduced photographs are a visual treat. However I do think they missed an opportunity to use Jennifer Brumfield's lovely illustrations to greater advantage. I have to stick up for illustration. Their consistent orientation allows for easier comparisons between species but with only the species' names present on the plates the section feels like an illustrated index and a bit of an afterthought.

The "Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Algonquin Provincial Park and the Surrounding Area" by Colin Jones, Andrea Kingsley, Peter Burke and Matt Holder is a book that does feature drawings and paintings. It reminds me of the Richard Lewington illustrated odonate guides to Europe and Great Britain, two of the most beautiful dragonfly guides ever produced. I particularly love the Gomphid plates. Well-organized and wonderfully insightful, I'll try not to be too obvious if  when I steal something from it for my own book.

Published in 2007, "Dragonflies and Damselflies of Georgia and the Southeast" by Giff Beaton is not brand new but I had to replace my copy after it got ruined in yet another flood in my basement last year. Now indispensable, the Southeast needed a guide like this. It is very well written, and Giff's photographs are uncommonly good and show what they need to show. Four pages of Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) variations = great stuff. 

Got room for more? Allen Barlow's New Jersey book and a guide to Arizona and Sonora by Doug Danforth and Rich Bailowitz are due out this year. And what about that Donnelly fellow? And Ken Tennessen's larvae book? A lot to look forward to!
Best wishes,
Ed Lam




On Apr 21, 2009, at 11:22:04 PM, "Marion Dobbs" <pond_damsel at comcast.net> wrote:

From:   "Marion Dobbs" <pond_damsel at comcast.net>
Subject:    [Odonata-l] Dennis Paulson's book
Date:   April 21, 2009 11:22:04 PM EDT
To: "Odonata-l list" <odonata-l at listhost.ups.edu>
Amazon came through today with an earlier than promised delivery of Dennis's new "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West." Hurry out and get one even if, like me, you don't live any further west than Georgia. So packed with information, my head is spinning. I especially like the plethora of comparison tables and diagrams that are such a nice supplement to the detailed text and great photographs. Maybe my favorite detail is the anatomicalphotographs. As good as diagrams can be, photos leave no doubt.
 
Marion Dobbs                                 
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Rome  GA 30165
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pond_damsel AT comcast.net
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