Book Reviews "Books For Your bonsai Library"

[Zombiefreak]

First off let me apologise for the "free book" situation it was found that this book may have contained stolen web elements, and other stolen copyrighted material I was not aware of this. So now I'm taking time to do some books reviews for bonsai books I either own or have on loan from my local library.

First book 101 Essential Bonsai tips
Author: Harry Tomlinson
Publisher DK publishing
This book is inexpensive and weighs in at a thin 72 pages. There is a handfull of usefull info but this book is best used as a quick reference guide as it does not go into specific detail on alot of things. In place I recommend the next book I will be reviewing as a good alternative. This is because it contains more content than the 101 guide. Also authored by Harry Tomlinson for readers digest publishing.

Bonsai
Author: Harry Tomlinson
Publisher:RD Home Handbooks

The book is a great intro book for any bonsai enthusiast. I highly recommend this book because he speaks in detail about Procedures,Philosphy and Art as it is all related to bonsai. This book is also a great reference guide for Species and Variuos tree stylings about half of the book covers that info. Then comes the discussions on the basics and nonbasics alike. This book as well has a well defined bonsai dictionary at the end. All of the information I've read was well illustrated by both photography and accompanying art work. This book picks up where 101 definetly left things lacking so get to your library and check this one out.

The Secret Techniques of Bonsai
Author:Masakuni Kawasumi the II
with Masakuni Kawasumi the III
Publisher:Kodansha
This was the first book I purchased along with the 101 guide. This book contains loads of wonderfull info. I almost read it cover to cover in one day. This information is invaluable for both the beginner and anyone wanting to take there Art more seriously. Three generations of knowledge accumulated what is detailed in this book. Vast amounts of info about grafting, Air Layering, "study his tool for this your could Probably make one'". He also talks about the Practicals and impracticals of each form of Propagtion from seedlings to grafting this book contains very excellent real world info about being a bonsai artist and using the proper tools for the correct job. My one disappointment with this book is that he does not cover as much about tools as he does the other info. But if he did this book may have ended up at about 300 or so pages, right now the book as it stands
is wonderfull "Buy it You won't be disappointed" This book will repay you many times its cost for the knowledge you retain and have reference to.

The Creative Art of Bonsai
Author:Isabelle & Reny Samson
Publisher:Hamlyn

One Bonsai book is not like all the others even though it sometimes looks like that when your pouring through vast amounts of pages trying to find what distinguishes each book from the other. Well this book has very little information on the basics IMHO. But The amount of quick refernce and how detailed its gets makes this book more than worth the asking price. I don't own this book yet this one is a library book, but it is one I will be searching out in order to purchase it. This book covers lots of species that are suitable for bonsai then gives general info on the care of these Trees. I'm not disappointed about the genral care info at all because it would take probably a hundred years to publish a book with detailed info on every last species. Another thing that makes this book so wonderfull is its quick reference on styles to which each of the individual species may lend themselves well too. I personally will be adding this to my Bonsai library as soon as I can and I would recommend you do the same.

Last But Not least

The Bonsai Workshop
Author:Herb L Gustafson
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc

This book is great for teaching yourself some of the great and harder to learn parts of bonsai art. Mr. Gustafson not only teaches you how to do things but then also makes case in point when explaining why we should be doing things a certain way. The Bonsai glossary alone makes this book worth the purchase price . But then he covers soil conditions,wiring, and Jin with lots of considerartions and even science. Anyone who doesn't get inspired by this book might as well give up in my opinion. This man is definetly passionate about his tree artistry and I'm confident that if you buy this book it will only help to propel you further forward into the world of the Bonsai.

Closing comments. These are all of my most current reviews all info is my opinion is given as so. My opinion does not reflect the specifics of any company,publisher,author or likewise all of the info given here I hope is of use to all interested in studying the art of bonsai through books . I am not affiliated with any of the related publishers and recieve no compensations for the expression of my opinions. Knowledge in my opinion should be freely shared amongst like minds. "The only unshared wisdom can be selfish wisdom"

Thanks
Matt Zombie

P.S. I would Like to see this become a sticky topic if at all possible


Others should feel free to post reviews of books they have read as well.

[Zombiefreak]

New Book Review
Title:Bonsai survival Manual
Author:Colin Lewis
Publisher:Storey Publishing

Well I got my copy of this recently and I thoroughly enjoy the book and all the information it contains. This book is a very good beginner book it approaches the subject with the beginner in mind. The information is very detailed and talks about various methods of doing Bonsai related tasks, The book contains a very good overview of bonsai culture and doesn't make assumptions about the readers. His teaching style is simple straight forward and to the point.The book contains about 160 pages 55 or so pages are about bonsai maintenance and the other pages are a species resource guide. The species guide has general care and maintenance info about species on a tree by tree basis. This book could be a valuable resource to any beginner and I would couple this book up so that you have multiple perspectives on the subject matter. If someone were to ask me what books should I look at to get started I would recommend both this book, and "The Bonsai Workshop" book that I reviewed earlier those two books should get you started in the right direction and you can continue to increase your library as time goes by. I am an avid reader so the amount of books I have read is not proportionate to the amount that you should start with. Get a couple books have at it then increase your library as you feel the need to do so. I would read through as much as you can to see what books present you with new knowledge then decide if that new knowledge is worth the money for the books. The reason I recommend building up over time is because these books can be expensive but if you buy them you then have those resources on hand at all times.

[JoeLewko]

do you know of any books that deal with tropical trees only, more specifically the ficus benjamina?

[Zombiefreak]

The Creative Art of Bonsai as reviewed earlier in this thread. But none of the books I have seen,read, or reviewed get into overly specific varieties. The Bonsai Survival Manual covers fig, ficus but not the specific variations. If there are any that I run across I will post it in this thread. Its practically Impossible to cover every species and sub species a book like that would take years to research would end up at about 1500 to 2000 pages and probably would cost about a 100 bucks or more. Anyways check out www.bonsai4me.com I hate posting other pages on here but if its a valuable resource there shouldn't be any reason it is not linked.

[jzero29]

I have read the two tomlison books and you hit the nail on the head. Out of the 6 books you reviewed 4 of them are in my library. the two tomlison books I have read, creative art of bonsai and bonsai workshop. They didn't have the seceret techniques of bonsai or bonsai survival guide by colin lewis, but they did have a video apractical guide to bonsai by colin lewis, have you seen it? I think I will request this item along with the others 2 I have not read. Any other good reviews or bad ones?(to know what to steer clear of)

[Zombiefreak]

As for Tomlinson his books under the other publishing companies seem to me to only be various edits of his book The Complete Book of Bonsai. I have been meaning to mention that.

I don't have specifics on what to steer clear of, it can be hard to decide, but if you page through the book and it seems a little less than useful or it seems to contradict anything that you have read in the past then its probably not very well done.

Some books are far more usefull than others. The best thing to probably do is read atleast ten pages in the store or where ever your looking at books. The best criteria on books is tha same as selecting trees for the most part.

Do your research, I know that may sound over simplified but sometimes you have to pan alot of sand to find the gold. Another great one is always the Public Library and some Bonsai clubs sometimes have private library as well. At either you will get time to research and read over your books then decide if you want to actively pursue purchasing them. Another thing I'm mentioning here is that I would like to see this topic put up as a sticky topic and have others post there book reviews as well. If you support that idea please Pm the Webmaster to show your support for the idea.

Thanks Zombie

Yeah I sure haven't seen the bonsai video or dvd your speaking of maybe you could post a review of that once you have watched it.

[DanW66]

I've read several of your postings and appreciate this thread. I recently picked up the A to Z Bonsai Encyclopedia on a remainder table at Barnes and Noble and what an amazing 6 dollar addition to my own library.

Do you (or anyone else for that matter) happen to know if any Japanese master's book(s) exist translated?

I read an Article from Hawaii where a guy said he had learned all the 5,000 formal rules of bonsai. That'd be interesting. Any ideas where to find that stuff?

[Zombiefreak]

That information might be hard to come by. But the Masakuni books probably qualify in the translated masters books. Another book that I will be reviewing soon will be Bonsai school, which was just rereleased as softbound book, for the price this book is excellent. I like having a Bonsai book library of my own but I don't want to get to caught up in books as most of all I'm all about the trees. Thats why I believe the library is a wonderful resource for finding and perusing books. 5000 formal rules thats alot of rules. yikes anyways check around to see if you have a local Bonsai club someone might have that info which I would imagine would be immensely extensive. If you look at The Bonsai Workshop he talks a bit about rules how to apply them and knowing when to break or bend them. I really can't recommend that book enough.

[Sharp]

New Book Review
Title:Bonsai survival Manual
Author:Colin Lewis
Publisher:Storey Publishing

Well I got my copy of this recently and I thoroughly enjoy the book and all the information it contains. This book is a very good beginner book it approaches the subject with the beginner in mind. The information is very detailed and talks about various methods of doing Bonsai related tasks, The book contains a very good overview of bonsai culture and doesn't make assumptions about the readers. His teaching style is simple straight forward and to the point.The book contains about 160 pages 55 or so pages are about bonsai maintenance and the other pages are a species resource guide. The species guide has general care and maintenance info about species on a tree by tree basis. This book could be a valuable resource to any beginner and I would couple this book up so that you have multiple perspectives on the subject matter. If someone were to ask me what books should I look at to get started I would recommend both this book, and "The Bonsai Workshop" book that I reviewed earlier those two books should get you started in the right direction and you can continue to increase your library as time goes by. I am an avid reader so the amount of books I have read is not proportionate to the amount that you should start with. Get a couple books have at it then increase your library as you feel the need to do so. I would read through as much as you can to see what books present you with new knowledge then decide if that new knowledge is worth the money for the books. The reason I recommend building up over time is because these books can be expensive but if you buy them you then have those resources on hand at all times.

This was my 1st book. Good beginners book, not too indepth to scare me away.

My next one I got was called "Growing Bonsai: A Practical Encyclopedia" More extensive than the last with more about tropicals and styles. With a comprehensive seasonal care guides.

[DanW66]

Mr. Zombiefreak,

Thankyousir, for the Masakuni tip. I am unfamiliar with that name, but won't be for long.

I'd like to recommend a book I read this summer that doesn't qualify as a bonsai book at all, but is a general gardening book and certainly indirectly related.

Second Nature by Michael Pollen.

It is one man's story of his gardening education. It's erudite, insightful, thoughtful, and laugh-out-loud funny in several places. Its a short read and very enjoyable. In addition to his own great anecdotes and musings (like considering of the moral implications of fire-bombing a gopher that eats his produce), he's as likely to quote Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman and a score of others.

I first became interested in Pollen's work a few years ago with a book called "The Botany of Desire" in which he traces the history of four different plants throughout human history from the plants' point of view. He looks at roses, potatoes, apples and marijuana.

"Second Nature" is without a doubt the best 13 dollars I've spent in years.

[Gnome]

Dan,

You asked about books written by Japanese masters. There are two volumes written by John Naka that seem to be on everyones wish list. They are "Bonsai techniques volumes I and II". These are out of print and I can't find them at my local libraries so I can't give you any first hand info. Actually, if I understand correctly, they are not books so much as his personal notebooks. I believe that volume I is the more practical of the two. They are usually available on E-bay for about $40.00 each. By the way, these are definitely not beginners books. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Naka's work here is a pic of his masterpiece Goshin.

[url]https://www.bonsai4me.com/Gallery/GALNatArbJohnQuinn/wbc2005g.jpg[/url]

Norm

[ynot]

The Harry Tomlinson book mentioned above is in fact assembled from excerpts from 'The Complete Book of Bonsai' by HT ISBN 1-55859-118-4
a fine book to be sure.

Do keep in mind though it was published first in 1990 and alot of his soil recipies are a bit dated in the respect that Akadama was not widely utilized outside of Japan [Their native soil is volcanic in origin] And other more recent similar high fired clay substitutes such as Haydite, Turface, and Arcillite were either not invented or commonly available.

This book represents the materials common at the time wrt soil composition.
In other respects a fine work, Showing trees that are in fact possible in this lifetime.

Gnome, You re: Bonsai techniques volumes I and II, By John Yoshio Naka. These are commonly called the 'Bonsai bibles'

It is true they are more a collection of his personal notes than 'chapter/verse' bookform. Still a worthy investment for those who want to be able to tell a story with their tree.

I would be remiss if I did not call attention to my top two titles.

'Bonsai, It's Art, History, and Philosophy' by Deborah R. Korschoff
ISBN 0-86439--194-3 Also AL ISBN 0-88192-389-3
An amazingly in depth journey for beginners and intermediates alike.
Training Techniques, Styling/Artistic principles and Horticulture/Health all between the covers of this tome.
Difficult to find, Well worth it when you do, and Highly Recomended.

'The Living Art of Bonsai' By Professor Amy Liang
ISBN 0-8069-8780-4 Also ISBN 0-8069-8781-2
A dedicated Chinese perspective [After all that is where it all started]
An informed author who has the goods to back up her words, Fantastic pictures of amazing trees.
[She has trees that were made into official stamps!]
An enlightening section on correcting nebari, Mixing ferts, Wiring, Pruning, Group plantings, Ect...
Not a book you will grow tired of any time soon.

Here's A tree Proffesor Liang has been working on since 1962:

[img]https://static.flickr.com/41/119825466_c40d874f68_m.jpg[/img]