Michael Allaby is a very well‐known author of books on science, natural history and the environment, and I have always found his work of an excellent standard. Picking this book up and flicking through its pages one realises that it is a textbook. It is illustrated throughout with colour photographs and diagrams. The text is in three columns with an American feel about it. This appears to be a reprint of a book first published by Facts on File, but no date is given and the most recent book cited in the short reading list (21 items) was published in 1996. Conversely, it has a list of 11 useful Web sites, the first time I have encountered this in a book and an excellent idea. It appears to be the first in a series, with future volumes planned on oceans, wetlands and deserts. There is no guide as to what groups the book is aimed at, but I assume it is “A level” to university and that it would find its real home in a school or college library.
The introduction defines the term “temperate forest” and points out that it covers broad‐leaved evergreen forests, temperate rain forests, broad‐leaved deciduous forests and the coniferous forests of the north. The book deals with soils, climate, the biology and ecology of trees, descriptions of individual species and the final third of the book concerns the relationship between people and the temperate forests. The book concludes with the reading lists, an index and an appendix of useful statistics.
This is a really well‐written introduction to the subject: a bit dry for my taste, but then it is a textbook. The hardback is fairly expensive, but I suspect this would be the book any student would turn to first when trying to get the facts on the subject. It is a very worthy if unspectacular book.
