Ketchledge's book feels good in hand. It weighs little and slips easily into a daypack or pocket. More important, the book's small size belies the wealth of valuable information inside. Ketch opens with short, lively chapters on the origins and history of Adirondack forests, then marches boldly into the business of identification. Here's where he really gets down to business.
Text appears for each species, and it's always crisp, clear and accurate.
The author gives handy tips for identification, such as slicing into the twig of an American elm to check for telltale layers of red-brown and buff. Vignettes about the ecological context in which each tree grows appear for each species, too, making the book much more than a mere tool for naming things. Each tree is singled out for identification, then placed in the natural community in it will be found in the wild. Slide a copy of E.H. Ketchledge's Forests and Trees into your pack beside the gorp and water bottle and head straight for the woods. You are the visitor.