This book is GREAT! This book is beautiful, this book is wonderful!!! [gee, think I like the book?] If you are considering buying only one book of botanical illustrations this is the perfect book to start with. If you have many books of botanical works of art this will be a valued addition to them. It is basically a sampling of botanical works of art throughout history. It includes many different artists from all different countries and all differnet styles. The one thing they all share in common is beauty.
If you want to purchase books of botanical illustration and don't know where or with whom to start this is the perfect book for you because it displays so many different artists, techniques time periods and styles.
Even if you already have a collection of this art I can still highly recommend this book. It is that good. I don't think that the book loses much of anything by being a paperback. The cover is of a very heavy material with a vibrant illustration on it. It is a coated cover so that it will stand up to quite a bit of wear. Please don't let that stop you from purchsing this wonderful book. There is so very much to look at and study here, it is a book that you will never tire of browsing through. It is also a great reference for reviewing a large number of different masters in this art form. Get this one, you will not regret it!