This category contains works pertaining to subjects classifiable as “rational recreation” (a Society of Friends concept defining activities that are both relaxing as well as productive of knowledge or discovery).
Not long after The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds was first published, enthusiastic early adopters of its revolutionary new visual learning method for mastering the art of field identification began asking “When is the next volume going to be published?”
As is now taught in special courses designed to aide military personnel in the event of their being captured, one of the greatest dangers to the psychological health, and thus the physical endurance and well-being, of a person held in captivity is that of boredom.
What if there was a different approach to learning how to identify species in the field? One that relied not on formal logic but rather some of the more recent discoveries from the field of cognitive science? One that built its foundation on an understanding of how we think and process information rather than on the simple amassing and proof testing of that information itself?
Such a wide-angle overview of nature is only possible for a limited geographic area if the book in which it is contained is to be sufficiently compact to fit into a jacket pocket or field bag; which is why the Kaufmans limited the scope of this field guide to the nature of just New England.