Events

Bookshop Santa Cruz is honored to welcome author David Allen Sibley, (that’s right THE David Sibley of the preeminent bird-guide), to hear him talk about his newest title, The Sibley Guide to Trees. Sibley applies his formidable skills of identification and illustration and turns his focus to the trees of North America . Monumental in scope but small enough to take into the field, The Sibley Guide to Trees is an astonishingly elegant guide to a complex subject. It condenses a huge amount of information about tree identification--more than has ever been collected in a single book--into a logical, accessible, easy-to-use format. With more than 4,100 meticulous, exquisitely detailed paintings, the "Guide" highlights the often subtle similarities and distinctions between more than 600 tree species--native trees as well as many introduced species. No other guide has ever made field identification so clear. Trees are arranged taxonomically, with all related species grouped together. By focusing on the fundamental characteristics of, for example, oaks or chestnuts or hickories, the “Guide” helps the user recognize these basic species groups the same way birders recognize thrushes, warblers, or sparrows. In addition, there are essays on taxonomy, on the cultivation of trees, and on conservation issues, reflecting Sibley's deep concern with habitat preservation and environmental health. This is an important new contribution to our understanding of the natural world, especially at a time when our appreciation and activism may be the very thing left from keeping the natural world from disappearing. The Sibley Guide to Trees is both a benchmark guide to identification and field study as well as a talisman to the beauty and importance of the natural world.  Please join us for a discussion, signing and Q&A with David Sibley on what is sure to be an enlightening evening! **News alert about this event:  Since hearing about the hardship that UCSC’s arboretum is going through, Bookshop Santa Cruz will be donating 10% off all books sold that night to the arboretum and hope that the community will turn out to help with this cause!