Rodale Organic Gardening Solutions

paper, 246 p., $16.95

This collection of useful advice on common gardening problems, culled from the pages of Organic Gardening, will delight most of its users. However, this is not a comprehensive reference guide; it is a compilation of reader inquiries and agonies with thorough responses from experts throughout North America. A smorgasbord rather than an encyclopedia, this pleasant book recycles answers to readers' problems, usually without a hint as to where the readers are located and other elements of context. Overall, this is a useful book that is worth consulting, but it is not destined for the shelf of essential references many gardeners maintain.

— John F. Swenson, Volunteer, Plant Information Office, Chicago Botanic Garden