Book list

[Brotherly Monkey]

Could someone recommend the top 5 books for a new enthusiast?

[Zdenglan]

I feel a little inapropriate here after reading all those extensive book lists...wow...I myself haven't got that many lol, but the one I find extremely helpfull and wholesome with all aspects of growing + the quirky personal touch is Will Cullina's Understanding Orchids As well culture sheets by the Bakers are excellent.

[UKCat]

The title of this book is
Cymbidium: Cymbidium Suave, Cymbidium Eburneum, Cymbidium Bicolor, Cymbidium Canaliculatum, Cymbidium Dayanum, Cymbidium Goeringi

My Husband thought he was doing me a favour by buying me a book on Cymbidiums and spent about £9 + p&p on a very slim 58 page paper back.
What this book contains is a list of URL's that lead to mostly incomplete Wikipedia entries. I could find out more by Googling the info for a darn sight lot less money. They also have a selection of titles on different orchids like Dens, other plants and other subjects to name but a few by the same publisher

Do avoid this book as in all the info that I have double checked since we got the book at the weekend it does not say anywhere that it is all just links to the Wikki site.

The company seems to be a vanity press style publication called Books Llc They use a plain beige cover with black bold writing nothing fancy and definitely not worth £9, I’m not even sure it is worth the paper it is printed on.
The worst bit is, it is sold on Amazon and ABebooks and at other warehouse style book web sites, it is only printed on demand so it would be very difficult to get your money back.
I will be leaving reveiws on Abebooks and Amazon if they will let me

It looks as if all someone has done is gone through Wiki and lifted any written info and pasted that into word and if there is no info the name of the plant and then the URL.

The only disclaimer is in the booklet that says that the entry on the web page could be updated at any time.

[Eyebabe]

One book I have not seen listed is The Classic Cattleyas by AA Chadwick and Arthur Chadwick.
I cannot express how much I have enjoyed this book!
Not only is it an excellent "read" with vignettes of history regarding Cattleyas, it also goes into detail regarding the region and culture of each of the large flowering Cattleya species.
It is possibly the best "orchid reference book" I've ever read.
There are also chapters on disease, repotting, and even art as they relate to Cattleyas.
I still refer to it often and highly recommend it.

Witner's series is not easy to find and some of the volumes are very pricey! Especially Volume 3 which I have seen listed as high as $1800. I got mine when a listing popped up for $40

Another book I recently bought on recommendation from this forum that I do not see listed here is Moth Orchids: The Complete Guide to Phalaenopsis by Steven A Frowine. I have been very please with it thus far and it has inspired me to at least keep a few of these plants (since I love them so much) despite my previous poor luck with them. So far, so good

[DavidCampen]

I also think highly of the Chadwick book. Anyone who collects the classic unifoliate Cattleya species should have this. It is an easy read, not a technical book. If you buy it directly from Chadwick you get a signed copy but you can get a new unsigned copy from Amazon for less than 1/2 that price.
Books/DVDs | Chadwick and Son Orchids
The Classic Cattleyas: Arthur A. Chadwick,Arthur E. Chadwick: Amazon.com: Books

The Withner series is mostly techinical taxonomic descriptions but as someone who is focusing his collection on this group of orchids I consider it a must have. I was acquiring the volumes one at a time. Volume V - "Brassavola, Encyclia and other Genera of Mexico and Central America" is by far the most expensive, hard to find for under $300. I still needed volumes IV and V when I saw a complete, autographed set (all 6 volumes)in like new condition for $750 so I bought that. But when I got that complete set it was so nice that I decided to archive it and so I just purchased volumes IV and V to complete my working set.

Another book for the serious Cattleya collector is "The Brazilian Bifoliate Cattleyas and Their Color Varieties" by Jack Fowlie. It has detailed taxonomic descriptions as well as interesting commentary. It is also out of print. The first copy that I bought was autographed so again I decided to archive that copy and bought another as a working copy.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by kimberlyflack

I loved Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean!!! It's an amazing true book - tons of orchid history and interesting orchid information. If you love orchids, you will love this book. It is written spectacularly! I highly recommend it. (Not so much a how-to/care book for orchids)

-Kimberly

Fascinating history of orchid hunting and cultivation and of the state of Florida as well. I just bought the ibook version last night and read about halfway through so far.