Bonsai: The Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees

I'm new to the Bonsai world. They are no places around where I live that teach Bonsai art. So, I decided to buy a book and learn myself. First book I bought (The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Bonsai by Ken Norman) left me wanting more. There's a lot of great pictures but that's about it. All the techniques weren't explained very well.So I went on Amazon and bought another book, Bonsai (101 Essential Tips) by Harry Tomlinson. This one is a short book about how to create your first Bonsai. It works well if you just want to make "a bonsai". I actually could recommend this one. However, I wanted to make more than just "a bonsai". I want to create "The Bonsai", I decided I needed to read more than one book about Bonsai trees. That's were this book "Bonsai: The Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees" by Peter Chan comes into play.I honestly can say that this felt like being educated at a higher level into making competition level Bonsai trees. Feels like sitting down at school and learning the history, meaning, and techniques of creating beautiful Bonsai trees. I can't say that this is "The Only" bonsai book that you need, simply because no one becomes a master at anything by just reading "One" book. You will probably need to read several books, look at videos over the internet, join blogs and practice with a lot of trees. But this book will definitely help you to get there. 100% Recommended.

Gives a broad overview along with significant detail on caring for bonsai throughout the yearly cycle! Peter is the best, make sure to check you his youtube channel as well (Heron's bonsai)

This is a well written, very comprehensive book for the bonsai hobbyist. I loved the pictures and the history of the hobby. I got the Kindle version for my Fire tablet so I can enlarge the small pictures to see detail. I'm not sure how big the pictures would be in a hard copy of the book. I also liked the way the author organised the information using lists to begin the explanations. Personally, although I enjoy reading about bonsai I have to say that I actually learned more from watching You Tube videos. Maybe it is the reinforcing of the information by seeing it done and reading about it but I definitely need both mediums to understand how to actually plant, trim, and wire a plant to make a miniature tree.

The book covers all the basics of bonsai care and training. Many of the trees in the illustrations are more penjing than bonsai. You'll get a look at the Chinese penjing style, where bonsai originated, as well as the more refined Japanese bonsai styles.

Not as helpful as it is advertised. Beautiful photos and history, not so much practical advice.

Another great by Peter Chan.

As pictured not too worn for being a second hand book

This book has plenty of information on bonsai. The images could look a bit better but due to their limited resolution the quality is sufficient. Overall a good book.

What a wonderful little book this truly is!As a beginner I've purchased several books about Bonsai / PenJing but sadly been a little disappointed with the details concerning important information about timing and methods of growing etc. This slim volume was the shortest and the cheapest of my purchases, and has the most comprehensive explanations, not only of what and how, but also the species of plant on which the method works best, as well as those on which it might not.Even a short browse through the content of text and photos I had a clearer idea of what tools I would need and when to prepare.If you are a bonsai beginner I recommend this book without any hesitation (& thank you Peter Chan)

Peter Chan's videos from YouTube led me to purchase this book. At the same time I purchased several other books from authors in order to cross reference the material and build a holistic knowledge base upon which to pursue this fascinating hobby.I was left feeling slightly disappointed. The book is largely in black and white, with print too compacted on some lines so much so that it almost looks like one long illegible word.The subject matter is good and provides detail in some more advanced areas and the directory of tree species is comprehensive with useful information on each species.All in all good books, some gaps in detail which could be plugged if read in conjunction with other books.

This book was purchased for my husband. I did not realize how small the print would be making reading of it extremely difficult, hence the low star rating.

Very good lots of info on bonsai worth it id say love it

Arrived on time and as expected.