Out of copyright identification book old but good

[MicroPunter]

In several videos, Microbehunter has suggested the German book ‘Das Leben im Wassertropfen’ to aid identification. I recently got a copy from Amazon and it is very good, some of the drawings are beautiful. I speak a little German but much of the book is way beyond my language skills but that doesn’t matter, there’s always Google Translate and as Microbehunter points out, just use the drawings to get a name and then goggle that. The only problem is the cost, it’s currently £35, which may be out of the budget of some people, although I’d say it is worth the cost. There is, however an alternative.

I was reading a little book I got from Brunel Microscopes, ‘Microscopy as a Hobby’ by Mol Smith, available here https://www.brunelmicroscopessecure.co. ... books.html. It’s a book aimed at the beginner microscopist, suitable for older child and adult readers. In this book Smith discussed a book written in 1918, ‘Frest-Water Biology’ by Ward and Whipple, so now out of copyright and freely available online for download. It’s available here: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/ind ... ipple.html. It may be old but it is beautifully illustrated. It’s also long, over 1000 pages. I love the Streble, Krauter and Bäuerle book but the Ward and Whipple book has two advantages, it’s in English and it’s free. The disadvantage is it’s only available as an ebook so you can’t just flip through it. But most of us have tablets we can read books on, and another advantage is we can enlarge the drawings with just a two finger gesture.

I apologise if this book has been disgusted before but I thought it might be useful to some of the people here. I’d love to hear what other people think of the Ward & Whipple book and the Mol Smith book. The Smith book has some interesting suggestions, including a technique for semipermanent mounting of slides using fructose sugar, something I hadn’t heard of before. And, like our beloved Microbehunter, Smith also recommends nail polish to seal mounts.

All the best and, as Microbehunter would say, happy microbe hunting.

Kevin

[Bruce Taylor]

Yes, Das Leben is a handy little guide. Keep in mind, though, that it shows only a tiny fraction of the real diversity in fresh water, and that the taxonomy is outdated. The same goes for most such "field guides," unfortunately.

[MicroPunter]

Yes, Das Leben is a handy little guide. Keep in mind, though, that it shows only a tiny fraction of the real diversity in fresh water, and that the taxonomy is outdated. The same goes for most such "field guides," unfortunately.

Yes, thank you for pointing that out, it’s a valid point. Even though outdated, I think it is still useful.

[einman]

"Fresh Water Biology" by Ward and Whipple is a beautiful book. I had the opportunity to pick up 2 copies a few years ago. I also like "Freshwater Invertebrates" by Pennak.

[einman]

The reason I have multiple copies relates to a house fire I had some years ago. Insurance paid to replace all of my books although some were recoverable.