KEY WEST BED & BREAKFAST, Key West Lodging and Accommodation Guide: Florida Traveling Guides: Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Florida has 1200 miles of coastline, almost 700 miles of which are sandy beaches. Exploring along those beaches offers encounters with myriads of plants, animals, minerals, and manmade objects all are covered in this comprehensive guide with descriptive accounts of 822 items, 983 color images, and 431 maps. Beginning with the premise that beaches are themselves alive, this guide to the natural history of Florida beaches heralds the living things and metaphorical life near, on, and within the state's sandy margins. It is organized into Beach Features, Beach Animals, Beach Plants, Beach Minerals, and Hand of Man. In addition to being an identification guide, the book reveals much of the wonder and mystery between dune and sea along Florida s long coastline.

Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Ditto! December 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I agree with everything everyone who rated this book 5 stars, says. I used this book every day while on Sanibel and I read it leisurely at night before bed. It has sooo much helpful info. I also bought the Audubon book for Florida, and I hardly ever opened it. "A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber", describes me to a "T", and this book was everything I needed.

4 out of 5 stars

Fun reference guide to learn more about the beach December 16, 2008
We were traveling to the beaches of Sanibel Island with our 2 children, ages 6 and 11 and wanted to buy a reference guide for beachcombing. It was really fun finding shells on the beach and then using the guide to identify what they were. The book is very nicely laid out and has lovely pictures. It's not too big so it's a good size for traveling.

5 out of 5 stars

Gold for Nature lovers! November 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This book is dense both by weight and in useful content. I bought it to take on an upcoming trip to Sanibel Island (of which half is set aside as nature preserve) and decided to test out the shell identification photos against a handful of shells I picked up last time we were there. Bingo! The photos are great, showing variations in accurate colors and with helpful descriptions, I was able to pin down with certainty what all my little beach treasures are. The only photos I think are potentially less useful are those of the marine mammals, which of course, are very hard to photograph above the surface of the water, maybe the next edition should include little drawings to help with whale and dolphin ID.
I also love the the chapter on "beach features" which includes topics like ecology, weather, surf patterns, sand action, and the chapter on "the hand of man." What a beautiful little book!

5 out of 5 stars

Florida's Living Beaches November 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

If you live on or near the beach this is the best book I've found. After checking it out at the library at least 15 times, I finally bought my own copy and refer to it at least twice a week.

5 out of 5 stars

Save time and buy two... October 20, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Save some time and buy two. If you frequent the beach often you'll want to keep one in your car for any spontaneous trips that you won't mind getting dirty. The other one to display at home, because it is a beautiful book. The clear, detailed photography match the informative "Did you know?" text, while the intuitive and logical layout makes it easy to find whatever your looking for. It is always a conversation starter for any guests who pick up this book.