Washington Books

Third in a trilogy of novels by Eleanor Morris Wu
that began with Losing Plum Blossom (2003)and The Black King (2004), A Conspiracy of nations (2005) continues the dramatic tale of an American war widow and her Japanese-Taiwanese lover as they are enmeshed in a web of sexual tension and geopolitical intrigue over the fate of the island nation of Taiwan. China's burgeoning international ambitions, Japanese dreams of resurgent empire, and covert American scheming to maintain a favorable landscape in a changing world pursue the main characters from Taiwan to Thailand, Romania, and Hungary, where converging forces propel the lovers to an unexpected, tragic climax (and set the stage for the novel's sequel).
Ms. Wu, like Louis L'Amour, never writes about a place she hasn't personally visited and experienced in depth, lending A Conspiracy of Nations a texture of reality that immeasurably enhances the dramatic action of the novel. The reader should not expect a fast-paced action-adventure fantasy like those produced by Eric Van Lustbader for teenagers and airport readers. Rather, A Conspiracy of nations presents a fascinating tapestry of psychosexual and political interaction across a vast and colorful global landscape - a novel more to the tastes of a mature, sophisticated audience.

"A Conspiracy of Nations" Eleanor B. Morris Wu's third and last in her trilogy on romance, power and politics in the Far East and Pacific.

Centred around Clarissa, an American who stayed on after her countrymen pulled out of Taiwan, this is a story of her romance and marriage to a brilliant surgeon which quickly evaporates as her new husband is ordered away and drawn into the games of the regions major power players.

In consolation, Clarissa takes refuge in her second love, poetry and readily agrees to read some of her works for an international poetry conference in Hungary, thereby setting off a chain of events that she could never have foreseen. Unbeknown to her, the circles in which her ex-husband now operates, are generating some very powerful forces and some of them will use anybody or any methods to further their aims. Clarissa has become just the sort of person they are looking for.

Follow her adventures and scrapes with disaster as she attempts to make the conference and stay one step ahead of her abductors in Professor's Wu's best to date. A great read with substance for both action and travel aficionados alike.

In this fast paced drama, Eleanor B. Morris Wu has designed a tale that marries the fates of nations to the lives and loves of two individuals, the Japanese-Taiwanese Ahmed Wang Matsui and the American Clarissa Carleton. The future alignment of power in Asia depends on the relationship between Ahmed and Clarissa. Across an international landscape that spans from Taiwan to Hungary, spies, assassins, government agents and a host of other characters make their influence felt in determining the outcome of this suspenseful thriller.

Underlying the romantic adventures of Clarissa Carleton is an intriguing historical and political perspective on the past, present and future relations between China, Taiwan, Japan and the USA. At stake is power and influence in the East Asia sphere, as well as the continued existence of Taiwan as an autonomous country.

Eleanor B. Morris Wu gives us a story that works well both as a romantic thriller in the tradition of Helen MacInnes, and as a thought provoking historical/political commentary.

"A Conspiracy of Nations" is an enjoyable read with substance to it. A most rewarding experience.

Eleanor B. Morris Wu is not your average American expat in Taiwan. A popular university professor at Chinese Culture University in Taipei, an anthropologist and a practicing poet, Morris Wu embarked on a trilogy of novels about expat life in Taiwan a few years ago, and she has just published the final installment, titled "A Conspiracy of Nations".

Like the two earlier books "Losing Plum Blossom" and "The Black King," the third book delivers the goods, with graceful writing, a gripping plot and a cast of characters that readers will care about.

"A Conspiracy of Nations" is 452 pages long, and it's a real page-turner from the get-go. The cover art sets the stage for what is a very accomplished novel by a local writer who is now a veteran novelist.

Morris Wu's earlier novels in the series were described by local reviewers as Taiwanese versions of "Sex and the City" or "Gone With the Wind," and this last installment continues the sexual politics on a global scale.

There's Clarissa, an American widow who, following the death of her husband in Vietnam, married a Taiwanese orthopedic surgeon. But that marriage was never a sexual match because her then-husband, Ahmed, was gay and had a lover who worked alongside him in a local Taipei hospital he practiced in.

Now, in the third novel in the trilogy, Clarissa and Ahmed are divorced, and this woman of the world -- a poet to boot -- has new dreams and new loves.

With a literary dash of Dame Barbara Cartland, the queen of British romantic fiction, and some James Bond-like international adventures thrown in for good measure, Morris Wu has written a fabulous finale to her 1500-page trilogy, and readers will be duly rewarded.

There are local settings inTaiwan, of course, romantic overseas adventures in Hungary, where Clarissa attends a global poetry conference to read her own work to a gathering of world poets.

Many of the characters from the first two novels of the series reappear here, so it's easy to dig right in and back get into the swing of things.

After a series of thrilling adventures in Bangkok and eastern Europe, Clarissa resumes her love affair with Ahmed in the picturesque lake district of rural Hungary, while all around them, political intrigue swirls and boils over into a plot structure that never loses its tension and romance.

So is it over, the Morris Wu trilogy?

"No, it's not over," her lovingly-created character Clarissa tells ex-husband Ahmed in a heart-breaking conclusion on the final page. "You have a world to make right, dear. I will be rooting for you ... for signs that you have been victorious, that you have succeeded in mending the international relationships of Japan and the UnitedStates, saving Taiwan and giving it a destiny that it can call its own."

Morris Wu is working now on a new novel, with some of the characters from her trilogy in the cast, and whether it will be part of a new series or a fourth part of what will become her ''Asian quartet'' remains to be seen.

At the moment, "A Conspiracy of Nations" -- a wonderful title, by the way -- puts the final touches on a hard-working Taiwan-based novelist's song of life! Well done, Professor Wu!

Professor Walker's book is a solidly researched, comprehensive history of the environmental movement in the Bay Area. Written in a clear, accessible style, the book covers a century of landsaving, from the early days of the Sierra Club to the exciting years from 1965-75 when most of our environmental protection laws were passed, to the recent use of land trusts , conservation easements, and urban growth boundaries to safeguard the Bay Area's precious green heritage. This book will stand, along with John Hart's "Legacy" and Amy Meyer's "New Guardians for the Golden Gate" as the canonical texts in the environmental history of California for years to come.

THE COUNTRY IN THE CITY: THE GREENING OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA should be a 'most' for any San Francisco Bay Area or comprehensive California library, whether it be a college-level or public lending collection. Students of California history and geography alike will appreciate this story of how the Bay Area's greenbelt was planned into an urban environment - and how each piece of it was fought for. From environmental battles which spread out to affect urban policies across the country to the involvement of businesses and individuals like, THE COUNTRY IN THE CITY is packed with insights on how early conservation affects today's urban environment, making it a fine pick for any collection interested in urban planning, ecology, or Bay Area history alike.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book really helped me understand the world I was born into--Berkeley in the late 1950s. As Richard Walker points out, that world reflected the work of countless Bay Area activists reaching back to John Muir. Many were civic-minded and dedicated women, and some started or built environmental organizations with national impact. This book describes it all: the people, the organizations, the issues, the victories (always temporary), the challenges, and the movement's shortcomings and unintended consequences.

Always attuned to class issues, Walker acknowledges that these movements were mostly led by upper-class folks and ultimately turned parts of the Bay Area (e.g., Marin) into lightly populated enclaves for the well off. Working families in the Bay Area have had great access to public parks and the coast, but activists so far have done little to impede the siting of toxic nastiness in low-income neighborhoods. Walker questions the link between efforts to slow or stop growth and the Bay Area's high housing prices, but he notes that the growth that has occurred--in the eastern part of Contra Costa County and the San Joaquin Valley, for example--isn't very smart and may be linked to the inner Bay Area's aversion to virtually any growth at all. At the end of the day, though, it's hard to resist Walker's conclusion that Bay Area residents have plenty to be thankful for. Highly recommended.

While this book was a bit academic and long on details, I found it a pleasant and easy read. I am a Bay Area resident and a NYC transplant and have marveled at the accessibility of the Bay Area's natural beauty and recreation.

I love the SF Bay Area for its beauty and outdoors and I wanted to know how it happened and who to thank. Now I know.

Another book worth considering, which is much more specific to the creation of one area is New Guardians for the Golden Gate: How America Got a Great National Park

This book deserves its reputation as a classic. Redman's story-telling skills are wonderful, he writes well, and clearly explains everything going on in the sometimes arcane world of legislative procedure. He makes the dullest-seeming motions and committee hearings come alive.

Scholars of the Congress should read this, if for no other reason than to get a basic handle on how the Congress actually works, rather than how they think it works in fancy regression analyses. But more than that, it's the starting point for a whole genre of work such as Showdown at Gucci Culch, Conflict and Compromise, and The Bill (all of which are must-reads as well). Even a casual observer of politics can get excited and interested.

This book is the most informative and best written book I have ever read on politics. It's filled with humor and candid comments about the United States Congress.

This book makes me nostalgic for the days when Members of Congress cooperated & got things accomplished. Great vignettes of Maggie! Very accurate rendition.

The year was 1970, President Nixon was still in office, however, an intern by the name of Eric Redman was on hand in the halls of Congress to witness the fascinating dance of legislation as The National Health Service Corps was attempting to be born. This book provides a personal account of the birth and struggles of the attempt to pass a piece of legislation from within the private confines of who was then the second most powerful United States Senator, Warren Magnuson from the State of Washington. While the names have changed, the struggle for a balance between power, influence, and social consciousness and survival remains the same. This book is as fantastic look behind the scenes of the most influential body of power on earth contains the essential ingredients today as a quarter of a century ago. It is a must read for anyone with an interest in political legislation and stands alone in its own right as a factual story that is as fascinating and compelling as any! fictional novel you will ever read.

If you have a bibliophile or a Washington State history buff on your Yuletide shopping list or just want something for your Amazon wish list, Dear Medora: Child of Oysterville's Forgotten Years just might fit the bill. Retired Ocean Beach School District teacher Sydney Stevens' most recent book, published this summer, brings to life the world of the remote village of Oysterville at the beginning of the 20th Century. Dear Medora is a collection of correspondence between teenage Medora, who is sent to high school in Portland, and her mother; enhanced by many photographs of the times and drawings which makes the Oysterville of that era come to life.
Oysterville is a tiny village of 48 that seems nearly frozen in time. Nestled on the shores of the Willapa Bay on North and East coast of the finger of land that is the Long Beach Peninsula, it can be difficult to find even if you know where to look. Founded in 1854 by Robert Espy and I.A. Clark, it was originally the county seat of Pacific County. It lost that distinction one night in 1893 when a group of South Bend townsmen came by boat across the Willapa and stole the court records, taking them back to South Bend which remains the county seat to this day.

Oysterville features a lovely little church, a one-room-school house turned community hall, a bit of the industry from which it derives its name and a handful of houses from the 19th Century, of which the Espy home place is one and where Sydney Stevens and her husband Nyle reside. Sydney is Medora's niece and also the niece of writer Willard Espy who wrote the forward for the book in 1998 while Sydney was working on the project. He died the next year. The letters between Medora and her mother Helen paint a picture of life in Oysterville during that time.

"Dear Medora" is unlike any other memoir, journal, diary, or correspondence collection I've read. What makes it special is that it allows us to look at life in the early 1900s through a "real-time" mother-daughter relationship. I love this book. I savored it, reading a chapter every day while quietly enjoying my first cup of coffee of the morning. I bought several copies of Dear Medora and gave them to friends and family members. My sister's reaction to the book was similar to mine--as she read it, she didn't want it to end. We both became emotionally attached to Oysterville. And we both became quite captivated by Medora's charms. My sister, who's about to become the grandma of a baby girl, actually crusaded for her kids to name their baby "Medora."

When Harry A. ("Papa") and Helen R. ("Mama") Espy returned to the family home in Oysterville on the north end of Washington's North Beach peninsula in 1902, their eldest daughter, Medora, was 3 1/2 years old. As the family grew, traveling throughout western Washington and Oregon for business, politics, or schooling become commonplace for family members, but Medora and Mama kept in touch through a lively and loving correspondence that lasted until tragedy struck the family in 1916. The Espys carefully preserved Medora's and Mama's letters, and Medora's niece, Sydney Stevens, has incorporated them into a wonderful book that not only documents the history of an area and an era, but allows us a glimpse into the deep emotional attachment between mother and daughter. Beautifully illustrated with vintage photographs, "Dear Medora" is a treat for the eye as well as sustenance for the heart and mind.

Medora Espy was the eldest daughter of Washinton State senator and dairy farmer Harry Albert Espy. She grew up in the quaint, somewhat remote, coastal village of Oysterville. "Dear Medora: Child Of Oysterville's Forgotten Years" is a collection of letters Medora wrote and received from 1902 to 1916 (as well as personal diary entrees) -- until a devastating tragedy occurred soon after her 17th birthday. Compiled and organized by Sydney Stevens (the daughter of Medora's youngest sister, Dale), "Dear Medora" is profusely illustrated with historical photographs and illustrations. This body of lively correspondence opens a 'window' into an American yesteryear through the life and observations of a sensitive young woman. "Dear Medora" is fascinating, rewarding, highly recommended reading and a welcome addition to American Regional History & Biography reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

This is a fun book focused on the wonderland trail. A great addition to you trail guide collection. We have purchased one for each of our three Mt. Rainier Cabins.

Ms. Filley has compiled all the information you will need to make the entire 92.6 mile journey around Mt. Rainier. Her attention to details from where to find water (a precious commodity on the trail)to place where the hiker must pause to smell the wild flowers, she provides a wonderful conversational tone to her book. Details as to miles hiked, elevation changes and what to expect at each camp along the trail really gives you the feeling you are there with her. After first 92 pages gives the reader insight into what to pack, how to pack it, what to leave behind, keys to having a success experience in the high country and bits of humor that offer encouragement. A great book for the price....something you must take with you.

If you're like me and in the intermediate to final stages of planning a Wonderland hike, then you've either already bought this book or you need to. Next asking Park Rangers yourself, this is easily the most complete and accurate source of planning information available. The authors have spent years compiling information on exact mileage, elevation, campsites and resupplies; most of their information is more accurate than the maps you'll use on the trail (or even the trail signs themselves!). They include lots of useful extras like sample itineraries for 8-14 day trips (the usual span of a complete hike).

However (as a warning to most people probably reading this), if you're looking for a quaint armchair adventure into the "Wonders of the Wonderland Trail" (as the name implies), you might try elsewhere. Heavy on data and light on campfire stories, this isn't a typical coffee table book for the whole family to enjoy.
It's a great book--if you need it!

This is an excellent reference I highly suggest one bring with them when hiking along the Wonderland Trail at Mt. Rainier National Park.

Gives wonderful descriptions of what to prepare for each day! Couldn't have done the Wonderland without it! Can't call yourself a real fan of Mt. Rainier without purchasing this book.

I first read this book for as a selection for MOHAI's bookclub and found it amazing. I was glad that Wes showed up to the bookclub meeting and talked for over an hour. I have lived on and off the 'Ave' for well over 10 years and I would often see him and have a cup of tea with him in the 'Ugly Mug Cafe.' This is a must read.

Wes Wehr had that unusual ability of being able to write exactly the way he spoke. The artists he knew come alive on his pages in such a way that I felt I was listening to him tell it to me personally.
I first came to know Wes through the Stonerose Museum in Republic, WA, which he helped to establish and support. As an artist, not only did I thoroughly enjoy his first book and the antedotes that he recorded, but it left me anxiously waiting for his next, The Accidental Collector. Here's an antedote of my own: while in Republic on a dig, a coffee shop in Seattle called him and told him he had left his only manuscript for the Accidental Collector laying on one of their tables that morning!
These two books were supposed to be part of a trilogy, but sadly that was not to be. Wes passed away before it could be completed and we are left to imagine what gems that third one would have held. I highly recommend both these books.

I have really enjoyed this book. For the first time I feel an insight into the Northwest Artists that I have not felt before. It really leaves me asking for more. I hope that Wes will follow up with more details on these incredibly interesting people and their respective relationships with each other. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in artists and their lives, as well as anyone looking for some honest, open and fun reading.

Not only is it one of the more delightful books I have read recently, it could very well be the best autobiography ever written by a lifetime resident of my hometown.

"The Eighth Lively Art" is at once a colorful history of Seattle in the 1950s, a thoughtful exploration of the artistic process, and a celebration of the connections that exist between people.

Wesley Wehr recounts his life as a young man in Seattle in the 1950s where, as a student of music composition at the University of Washington, he was befriended by such luminaries as painter Mark Tobey, poet Elizabeth Bishop, and actress Margaret Hamilton. He meets painters Morris Graves, Guy Anderson, and Helmi Juvonen, all of whom become lifelong friends. He has encounters with famous twentieth-century figures like photographer Imogen Cunningham and composer Ernest Bloch who offer there wisdom, hospitality, and encouragement.

The book is divided into chapters that focus, for the most part, on individuals he has known and people he has met. The artists convey their ideas about life and love while sharing their personal experiences with and approaches towards the composition process. Wes Wehr also relates his own, often unsuccessful, forays into music and painting during this early stage in his life.

For those of us who have grown up in Seattle, this book is a reminder of how this place has shaped our own sensibilities. How many of us, like the young Guy Anderson, wandered through the Burke Museum as a child looking at Northwest Coast Indian Art or, like Wes himself, spent our late teens hanging out on the Ave?

This book is, most significantly, about the power of friendship. I am so accustomed to living in a world where everything is assigned value based on net worth or earnings potential, I often lose sight of the things which have truly enriched my own life. After reading Wes' account of the various friendships he has established and maintained over the years, I recognized more clearly how very important such friendships have been to me.

Lorenz did a great job when he wrote this book!
The very first time when I heard of chaos theory was year ago while watching some old documentary about Nostadamus. In film was mentioned chaos theory and said that acceptance of it by many people could change whole look to life and so on. Movie left to me questions - what is that theory, what it's standing for.
Finaly my interest lead me to this book and it clearly showed me what kind of staff is that chaos theory! That was and is really intriguing!
Book is well written. There was of course some places that wasn't easy to understand. I myself have studied high math,encountered differential equations but anyway had some difficulties. That's why not 5 stars to book - it's really not for absolutely everyone although almost close to it. I couldn't stop it reading, I was done in two days.
This book encouraged me for further reading.

Lorenz has done it again. This is a terrific inside look at chaos by the man who made Gleick's book possible. And it had a few interesting new ideas too--who would have thought there was a different way to present fourth-order Runge-Kutta? Who would have thought Runge-Kutta could convert a phase-space circle to a nice-looking fractal attractor? A good book for the air plane.

Edward Lorenz takes a complicated topic and makes it accessible for all people, regardless of prior knowledge of chaos theory. He provides interesting and easy to follow examples of chaos, fractals and complexity. The illustrations are helpful and he includes a glossary of terms to aid the beginning chaos enthusiasts to quickly become familiar with the terminology. Mr. Lorenz gives a brief history of chaos and explains how it is used in the study of mathematics, meteorology, economics, music, and other fields. The book is very interesting and is highly recommended for those who would like to acquaint themselves with the exciting world of chaos.

My first intro to chaos was Gleick's book *Chaos: Making a New Science* which focused on the history of the discovery of chaos. Although this was fascinating - and a good read for those just learning about dynamical systems, strange attractors, and the like - Lorenz's *Essence of Chaos* was much more satisfying. Lorenz analyzes specific chaotic functions, gives you the math (equations are in the appendix) and generally accomplishes what the title suggests - that is, exploring the essence of chaos. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in this deeply fascinating subject.

We bought this for our little vacation following the trail of the Lewis and Clark Expedition through Washington State. We have learned so much about our own state by using this book. Definitely worth the money.

This well organized and very readable book is a combination history book and travel guide. The authors personally traveled to the sites and provide detailed directions and numerous photographs as well as historical and social background.I am a long-time resident of Washington and have learned much from this book. I refer to it often and people who have borrowed my copy have enjoyed it enough to purchase their own copies.Topic coverage varies from a couple of paragraphs to a few pages. The book is organized by geographic regions and the highly detailed index makes it possible to find a place or event quickly.

The authors have produced a very readable and entertaining history of Washington State including the origins of the towns and cities, the people who contributed to their development and how they developed over the years. Organized by regions and highways, it is a must for anyone interested in exploring the byways of the state and learning how it came to be.

As a native of the state, I'm familiar with the popular history of Washington that has been told and re-told many times. That is why it's a joy to come across a book with little known and interesting stories about our past. To come across a sign announcing a small town, and to be able to read about that town in this book gives me a new appreciation for the area I'm driving through and the state I live in.

The book Fate of Ravens, which is written by Tiina Nunnally, has to be one of the greatest mysteries written. Although there was another book written before this, Runemaker, which was also a Margit Andersson mystery, I didn't read it so I don't think you need to read it to understand Fate of Ravens.
I'm not going to start summarizing the book since this is a review, but just so you get the main point of what happens in the book I will explain a little. There are a couple murders that have recently happened in Seattle, and a regular woman who is a translator gets caught up in everything. By the looks of what is going on this woman, known as Margit Andersson, believes that the deaths were tied to things that happened in Nazi-Occupied Denmark during World War II.
While reading the book, you feel that you are living in this world, waiting for the next bit of evidence. There were absolutely no downfalls in this book and everything was always entertaining. Yes, finally a book with no boring parts! These are some of the reasons the book is what it is. It is a great way to learn about the Scandinavian culture.

This is the perfect book to curl up with and forget about the dark winter evenings that have arrived. Every chapter makes you want to continue reading because there is just one more thing to figure out.

The characters feel real, and the environment fits the story which allows the reader to feel relaxed and not have to fight to make the story work. The WW II stories, which are true, give an amazing view into a part of history that has not been shared with many.

This is a book to be shared with anyone who enjoys siting down and reading a book until you reach the back cover. It is a good one night stand.

Good news/bad news: You discover a fantastic new mystery series. Yay! Then you find out there are only two books in the series, and the author has no immediate plans to write more. Boo! If you haven't yet met Seattle translator Margit Andersson, you're in for a treat. "Fate of Ravens" and its predecessor, "Runemaker," are delightful, suspenseful amateur sleuth tales, featuring, as a bonus, lots of insight into Scandinavian history and culture. What really made these books come alive for me were the characters. Margit and her friends are so well-rounded and real that I half-expect I'd run into them if I stopped by a certain Seattle coffee shop. I enjoyed Margit's cat, Gregor, too. Recommended to all amateur sleuth/cozy fans, but particularly those with an interest in Scandinavia! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Tiina will decide to put her translation work aside and bring Margit back some day...

Margit Anderson is working as a translator of Scandinavian languages at Sea-Tac Airport when she watches a senior citizen fall down an escalator, crying "not him!" in Swedish. Though the incident bothers her, Margit becomes concerned when she learns that another elderly Scandinavian fell from a high rise balcony. The police believe the second victim was pushed and ask Margit to help them translate into English items found at the murder scene.

Margit soon realizes that the deaths of the two women were not coincidence, but linked by their work as conductors on the WW II European underground railroad that sent many people to safety. Eventually, Margit meets an elderly Dane, who believes that the women's deaths have to do with their activities five decades ago. As she becomes deeply involved with the case, Margit does not recognize the danger posed to her by an individual who wants his dark secrets from the big war to remain hidden.

FATE OF RAVENS is a well-written regional and ethnic mystery that will please fans of Northwest tales and those who enjoy Scandinavian stories. Margit is a fascinating character and the Seattle-Tacoma area is always fun to visit while reading a good detective novel. Additionally, the historical tidbits add much flavor to the story line. Still, like its predecessor, RUNEMAKER, the charm of this novel lies in the insight to the Scandinavian culture.

Harriet Klausner

Personally, I think the Peterson Guides are far more helpful than the Audobon publications. As mentioned in other reviews, Peterson uses illustrations organized by color and flower configuration. The illustrations are very well done. Audobon uses photos. The idea is that you match your specimen to the photo it most closely matches and follow further identification from there. The books are complimetary and work well together; however, if you can only choose one-- get the Peterson book. Overall, I have had much better success keying out plants with Peterson and repeatedly have found the plant I am looking for overlooked in the Audobon text. The truth be known, I doubt I will ever buy a Audobon plant book again-- perhaps they are better with birds.

I take this guide (and the Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers-- west) on all my field trips to identify wildflowers. Though Peterson has fewer real photos, it does have better aids to identify specific wildflowers, as it is organized by color, as well as number and types of petals. The sketches help me do a preliminary id on the wildflower.

I like the book and the topic, however the binding is is such bad shape that the book is useless in the field or for a more robust usage. Can this be fixed?

Though this title may be a little pricy, it is a must have for residents of California, Oregon, and Washington. At any rate, any family within which there is a flower collecter, should have a copy of this excellent resource. Though my family originally purchased this title because of a biology project assigned to my daughter, it has since opened up an interesting world of the natural plant life of this area and even those farther away.