A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guides (R))

The book is up to Peterson's usual high standards in a field guide. It covers mammals followed by poisonous plants, shrubs/trees, vines, ferns and fungi. There are color photographs but the black and white drawings are the way to go for IDing. Most people will not read the entire book unless they're a hardcore naturalist or really, really bored in front of a campfire. I recommend checking out the hazards in your partiualr area icluding AT LEAST the following: 1. All poisonous snakes and their look-a-likes 2. Black Widow and Brown Recluse spider 3. Tics and Scorpions 4. Bees, Wasps, Fire Ants 5. Poisonous Plants including the Big 3: Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac 6. Poisonous Mushrooms (not so you can learn which you can eat, but to understand the severity of eating just one wrong one)

There's alot that won't apply to you(save those for a rainy day) and some hazards are less hazardous than others. For example, the short-tail shrew is listed, but most people need not live in fear of "killer shrews". But knowing that their bite has some bite to it, maybe you'll avoid juggling those cute furry creatures. Also, large mammals aren't included, though bears and mountain lions can seem pretty hazardous to me in some situations.I recommend supplementing your reading with "Bear Aware" by Bill Schneider and "Mountain Lion Alert" by Steven Torres. In addition, I wouldn't trust this book solely to gather a gourmet wild mushroom feast, either. I've seen some books topping 1,000 pages on edible shrooms and they still might not be complete. Its best to leave the shrooms alone!
Finally, there are a few diseases found outdoors worth researching: Giardia, hantavirus, rabies, and lyme disease among others.

Also recommended: "Peterson's Wild Edible Plants" and "Medicinal Plants".


i didn't know that!   March 20, 1999
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

did you know that boxwood, the ever present suburban hedge, is mildly poisonous? i didn't! a very useful book to reference for what not to touch, eat, or annoy.


Before you know what's edible, know what'll kill you!   August 18, 2000
Nom De Plume
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Before you dash out into the woods and pick some plants you think are edible, you might want to get this book and know definitely what will kill you, or really mess up your body. Excellent info, bright color pictures, and written for an easy understanding, this book should be in any nature enthusiast's library, right next to Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, possibly the best plant identification guide around.


Great field guide   September 13, 2005
Kristopher R. Smith
2 out of 7 found this review helpful

perterson field guides are the best Ive found. I appreciate the easy to use guides and the content is excellent.


Don't harm snake on cover !!   May 16, 2007
Michael A. Peters (Antioch, CA United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

My little brother just gave me this field guide. I was shocked to see a picture of a completely harmless Scarlet Kingsnake on the cover of a field guide to Venemous Animals.

I like the field guide, but please people, if you see the snake on the cover - understand it is a Kingsnake and completely harmless, not a Coral snake which is probably what they intended to have on the cover.

Coral snakes do not have red bands between two black bands, and the type of bands they have are quite different.

If you see a Coral snake, please don't kill it either - leave it alone, but especially do not kill a harmless Scarlet Kingsnake thinking it was a Coral snake. Hopefully the next edition will fix this embarrasing mistake.