Handbook of Nature Study

I just got mine and was disappointed in the quality of the pictures, but was immediately drawn in by the writing style.  I’ve been homeschooling for 10 years or so and had no idea what was missing!!  I think we will search the internet for whatever pictures we want to see to go along with our reading in the book.  It is still worth owning IMHO.

Robin

I use it more as a resource for myself than anything. We have wonderful, full-color field guides for the kids. They also use enature.com

I have an older edition.  You do have to be careful when purchasing online because there are some printings without all the chapters.  I use it mainly for reference and to read short passages from but we use the internet for pictures unless we are actually with the natural thing in front of us.  For me, the older the better.  It smells like a book should smell, it has an old library pocket with hand written check out dates, and I find it beautiful.  I would not consider the pictures grainy at all but they are in black and white and maybe a small few are not crisp.  I have a 24th edition which includes all lessons.  I consider it one of my book treasures.  All that being said, a new edition would be accurate, have everything you need, and serve your purspose.  It would be more of a tragedy to not own the book at all than to own a new edition.

Here is the link that I use with all my Outdoor Hour Challenges:

http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Nature-Study-Botsford-Comstock/dp/0801493846/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333594014&sr=1-1

It is the black paperback with the butterfly on the front. I have found it to be the best edition to use for everyday.

I did purchase a hardcover older edition but it is too precious to use for everyday study. 🙂

The preface to my Handbook of Nature Study states that in the 1986 reissue (and subsequent ones, I imagine), “the suggested readings and the bibliography have been deleted because many of the books are out of print or unavailable to most readers.” My first thought was “Oh no!”

I used to use a 1947 edition in which the bibliography and suggested readings were not yet deleted. (I will get it back in a few months probably–long story). But at the time, I was able to find several of the readings in the public domain or inexpensively on Amazon Kindle. Some of Comstock’s suggested readings have become favorites in our home, such as “By the Roadside” by Fannie Wych Dunn, available for $1.99 on Kindle.

I will be looking up more readings when I get my 1947 back, but she has a LOT, and many ARE hard to find. I am interested to know if anyone else has found other good books that were referenced in the older Handbook editions!

Thanks!