Discover the invisible: A naturalist's guide to using the microscope (PHalarope books)

By Eric V. Grave

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0132153440
• ISBN13: 9780132153447
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Prentice-Hall
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Great Introduction to Microscopy!

Along with Werner Nachtigall's "Exploring with the Microscope" this book is a great first book for the amateur microscopist. As a professional biologist who dabbles in amateur microscopy I have enjoyed both books. They do differ somewhat in their format. While Nachtigall's flows from some basic (and some more advanced) principles through examples of microorganisms, Eric Grave's book is divided into two parts, the first of which is a standard history of the microscope and fundamentals of techniques and the second of which tackles discoveries within the micro-world. The later has sections on such fascinating life forms as planaria, Paramecium, Didinium, Cyclops, symbiotic protozoa in insects and ruminants, Pilobolus (the sharp shooting fungus), cheese mites and rotifers. Both books are well written and carry the enthusiasm of the authors. Either would be a great gift for an amateur microscopist. It is good to see "Discovering the Invisible" back in print. Phalarope Books produced a really neat series of titles for the amateur naturalist and it is now difficult to find most of them. Of these Grave's book is one of the best. If you are a microscopists or known one this is one of two great introductory texts to choose from (why not get both!)

It's Back in Print

Discover the Invisible : A Naturalist's Guide to Using the Microscope was published in 1984. In 1991 Dover reissued it, changing the title to Using the Microscope: A Guide for Naturalists, updating the last short chapter, "Resources," and repositioning the color photographs from within the text to the front cover and the insides of back and front covers. The book is divided into two parts. The first begins with a pleasant, informative history of microscopy and continues with chapters on choosing a microscope, learning to use it correctly, the different kinds of illumination for microscopy, and how to get started in photomicrography. The second part consists of matters more appealing to the naturalist, chapters comprised of short, specific and excellently illustrated essays --on how microscopic creatures eat, multiply, compete with and make use of one another, two little bits on microbial behavior, and two chapters on what visits to Yellowstone and the Petrified Forest can mean to the naturalist-microscopist. At the back of the book are notes and a short bibliography for each chapter, glossaries of microscopical and of biological terms, and a useful index. Unless you're a collector, Using the Microscope: A Guide for Naturalists (the Dover paperback) is the edition to buy ... while it's still available.