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Rating: 
Summary: locally good
Review: I have used this book in two places: the Columbia Basin sagebrushcountry just east of the Washington cascades, and in south-central Idaho. For the Columbia Basin this book is very good. Anything that catches your eye is likely to be included, despite the book's slimness. In central Idaho the coverage is not so good, and you will end up wondering if what you're looking at is in the book. Just remember, as with all small, easy to use plant guides, there are probably five times as many plant species on the ground, even in the Columbia basin, as there are in the book. The natural history coverage is reliable but not terribly extensive. In Washington I have found it's nice to have this in combination with the authoritative but unfriendly and jargon-ridden Hitcock and Cronquist flora. Taylor will get it for you if it's a reasonably common plant, or give you a good starting point for wading around in H&C, if there's any doubt.
Rating:
Summary: locally good
Review: I have used this book in two places: the Columbia Basin sagebrushcountry just east of the Washington cascades, and in south-central Idaho. For the Columbia Basin this book is very good. Anything that catches your eye is likely to be included, despite the book's slimness. In central Idaho the coverage is not so good, and you will end up wondering if what you're looking at is in the book. Just remember, as with all small, easy to use plant guides, there are probably five times as many plant species on the ground, even in the Columbia basin, as there are in the book. The natural history coverage is reliable but not terribly extensive. In Washington I have found it's nice to have this in combination with the authoritative but unfriendly and jargon-ridden Hitcock and Cronquist flora. Taylor will get it for you if it's a reasonably common plant, or give you a good starting point for wading around in H&C, if there's any doubt.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Field Guide and Reference
Review: This book is useful in many ways: as a field guide, reference, habitat identifier,uses of plants such as food or medicine (e.g. by local Native Americans), soil types, animals present, etc. It opens up the tremendous beauty of the steppe-shrub-sagebrush deserts of the West. Lovely photos. This so-called "barren land" is teeming with amazing diversity and color. It is also helpful for those of us attempting native plant (indigeous) gardens. I highly recommend it.
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