The best book I've yet read on the September 11 attacks.
Amy Bartlett makes me feel I'm there. Great writing, a moving style, and genuine insight into the tragic events of that day. By all means pick up a copy and read it!

As one who was THERE, laboring for two weeks at ground zero as a firefighter and chaplain from Colorado, I can say without hesitation that Amy Bartlett captured the moment within the pages of her wonderful book.

I was moved to tears over and over as I read her descriptions of New Yorkers' reactions to this disaster. Amy allowed us to get inside her skin and relive this event as one who actually lived in Manhattan. I came as a volunteer, and only briefly touched the lives of ordinary people who lived through this. While my time was with the rescue workers, her focus was on the thousands of ordinary people who lost loved ones, and had to find the strength to go on living long after the last body part was recovered, and the last wreckage was removed.

Anyone who desires to drink deeply from the cup of sorrow endured by so many, and yet also drink freely from the waters of hope and renewal, should read this important book. History will record the facts of this tragedy, but Amy's book will forever capture the heart of the people, and their struggle to regain that which was lost. Her words give us strength to rise out of the ashes of the rubble and take the hand of God, who will never let go.

I was a police officer in Maryland in the fall of 2001. I was privileged to command a group of officers from my agency for three days in New York during the relief effort.

Being there was a life-altering event. Reading this book brought all those feelings back. It is a cliché but in this instance an apt one, this book is a MUST read.

We love to sit and watch the moths bees and butterflys come to our bushes (we actually have 7). With this book we have been able to identify the moths and butterflies.

This introductory field guide is much, much better than the old Little Golden Guide" that beginning Lepidoptrists (butterfly lovers) have relied on in the past. I wish I had had the new First Guide version a kid! It shows accurate color drawings of the most common species, along with the food plants and, in some cases, the other life stages such as larvae and pupae.

I especially like the fact that it includes so many moths -- not just the showy ones like Cecropias and Lunas that beginners dream about but seldom find -- but some of the little gray and brown ones, too, such as might show up any evening around your yard light. Plus, I finally found out that a grayish day-flying moth with a metallic-blue body that I see around here all the tiime is callled a "Southern Ctenucha."

As a Master Gardener volunteer, I currently recommend this to 4H-ers (and adults, too) who are just getting started in entomology. It's easy to use, and the light pocket size makes it nice for children to carry on field trips. Buy it along with "First Guide to Caterpillars" in the same series (which I have also reviewed here on Amazon).

In the first part of this excellent field guide, families of butterflies are presented together on color plates, ably illustrated by Amy Bartlett Wright. This allows the reader to compare similar looking species--a must with hard-to-differentiate groups like the Blues, where minute differences mean the difference between one genus and another. The illustrations are cross-referenced to fuller descriptions in the second part of the book. Here there is additional information about appearance, food, habitat, flight, and range. As a beginner, I especially like author Paul Opler's decision to organize the butterflies by taxon rather than appearance. As I identify butterflies in the field, I am also learning a bit about the science of these beautiful creatures. Highly recommended.

"Butterflies," a field guide co-authored by Jonathan P. Latimer and Karen Stray Nolting, is a beautiful and informative guide to this fascinating family of insects. A well-written introduction gives basic information about butterfly anatomy, the butterfly life cycle, and other relevant matters. But the main body of the book consists of individual profiles of many major species of butterfly.

Each two-page spread consists of text, a full-color photograph of a representative insect, and excellent full-color drawings by artist Amy Bartlett Wright. Highlighted sections of each spread focus on each butterfly's habitat, its favorite plants, and the best times of the year that it can be seen. By the time you finish the book, you will be familiar with the Tiger Swallowtail, the Variegated Fritillary, the Red Admiral, and many other colorful species.

This is a fascinating book which will be useful to both adventurous types who like to view butterflies in the wild and to those who prefer to read about butterflies from the comfort of their study. And although the book is marketed for young people, I believe it would also be appealing to adults. Ultimately, the authors and illustrator have created a beautiful tribute to a marvelous family of living beings.

I foun this one a very good book, it doesnt have any photos, but color illustrations are very descriptive and useful.
Its a must have for beginners because you will find almost any caterpillar out therem of course so many of them are not in this book, but the common ones seen around there are in this book.
You wont find any problem to identify among them, they are very well differenced in the book.

It is a good book considering its size, and its price, youll find it practical.

If you've been looking for a book to help you identify caterpillars, you may have noticed that field guides for butterflies and moths are nearly useless in this regard. Entomologists don't seem to be nearly as fascinated with the larvae of these creatures as they are with the adults. But this is the guide you've been looking for! Although the First Guides are written for children, this book is suitable for adults as well and is by no means remedial. The book is made to take along at 3 3/4x7 1/4 inches in size and 128 pages long. It begins with an introduction to caterpillars which explains their structure, life cycle, protective mechanisms, and gives brief instructions for attracting and caring for caterpillars. This is followed by pictures and descriptions of 120 caterpillars. Each caterpillar is clearly illustrated for easy identification. Illustrations of the adult moths and butterflies are included, so you will know what the little critter will turn into. (All illustrations are drawings.) There is a description of each caterpillar which includes details of its appearance, size, diet, and where it is found. A few caterpillars that are dangerous to handle are marked with don't-handle signs. (They won't kill you; they cause skin irritation, pain, and rashes, at worst.)

Recommended for everyone who would like to know just what those caterpillars are and what they will become. A great gift for kids who like the outdoors. The book's only real shortcoming is that it is not comprehensive. We can always hope that the publisher will add more species in a later edition. In the meantime, this guide will enable you to identify most common species of caterpillar.

The kids have a wonderful time identifying all those catterpillers. They used to bring each one to me to help them identify what they were. Now they can do it themselves.

Goff is a forensic entomologist, basically someone who figures out how long someone has been dead by the insects on, in, or under the body. The book is a tale both historical and technical about the subject: historical in that it provides many examples of his work over the years, and technical in that he provides a good overview of just what he's looking for-which insects he expects to appear at what time.

His style is clear and frequently understated, as when he relates that some of his colleagues were somewhat put out when it was found that one of his labs did not vent to the outside as it was supposed to.

Anyhow, this is a fascinating if somewhat grisly read about an unusual but surprisingly significant subject. Just don't read it when you're eating!

This book succeeds at all levels. He has hard science a layperson can follow. He has history as he was in on the process of forensic entymology becoming a recognized field. He has case histories. He has thoughts on being a forensic entymologist. ("I know a life can be radically changed, even ended by my testimony.") And he has funny parts (really) that you can buttonhole your family to read to them aloud. Goff seems an honorable and compassionate man. I want to read his thoughts. I've read any number of books on forensic science for the lay reader so it isn't often anymore that I learn so much new. I had not read one on bugs before and recommend this one with enthusiasm.

I initially picked up the book after an interview Dr. Goff gave on NPR's Fresh Air piqued my interest. The book is at once a macabre and fascinating read. Dr. Goff succeeds in being detached while relating some very sordid, horrifying accounts in a very easy to read fashion. My only mistake was reading this book while eating at a Japanese restaurant. Rest assured, like me, after reading this book, you will never look at flies, or food, the same way again (even now, I often wonder where flies I see about have previously been before).

Part true crime, part science fact, this book sheds light on an interesting, growing, and increasingly important area of criminology. Similar in fashion to the techniques depicted in the book, The Silence of the Lambs, this book gives an in-depth treatment of the way insects have been used not only to determine the time of death, but also solve crimes.

I found the history of the field of forensic entomology, which easily goes back some one hundred years, to be quite fascinating. Dr. Goff also relates to the reader some of the ways fly larvae can potentially be used for the benefit of the living, such as the medicinal uses of wound cleaning and anti-coagulant properties of larvae.

Moreover, I was also touched by the compassion Dr. Goff has for the victims, both living and dead, of violent crime. To do the kind of work he does requires a certain amount of cold detachment (otherwise many could not do it), yet Dr. Goff never forgets that the victims were once human beings. As such, though he has understandably been the subject of more than a few TV dramas, he himself does not try to sensationalize his work. In addition to relating the horrific and sordid, he also gives the reader a hefty dose of the mundane, tedious, and frustrating, as he relates the red tape involved in doing his experiments and the often annoying complications of being involved in all facets of a murder investigation.

This is a fascinating read. Dr. Goff has so captivated me that I am thinking of enrolling in the forensic entomology class offered at UC Davis in the spring, if my stomach can stand it!