Louis F.
Certainly, there are reasons to have Harry Harrington’s Bonsai Basics: The Foundations of Bonsai in your library, however much of this material seemed familiar. That is because it was originally published as an e-book on his website in 2013. Mr. Harrington has every right to rework his own thoughts. Publishing them in a hard copy book without saying so seems disingenuous. The pictures are spectacular. Most of the trees are from the author’s collection. Why then did he feel that it was OK to write “The full story of this bonsai can be found in the book “Bonsai Inspiration 1” by Harry Harrington? That sort of writing seems fine for web publication where a link is provided. Finally, I thought that another customer who complained about the small type was some kind of crank. That was until my copy arrived. Seriously, in the table of contents on just the first page there are over 60 entries. Good luck tracking across to find page numbers. The main text is only slightly larger. Since I bought Bonsai Basics: The Foundations of Bonsai at a discount I won’t be returning it, but I will be more careful about buying Mr. Harrington’s books in the future.
Bob C.
The book I bought "Principles of Bonsai Design" by David De Groot is a tremendous source for me being only in my 3rd year of bonsai that has answered numerous questions and some I didn't even think about. Like everything I've purchased from Stone Lantern the quality and prices are excellent.
John G.
Beautiful book, shows the beauty of bonsai to the uninformed as well as those of us who already appreciate the benefits of practicing bonsai.
Rick M.
Although on the surface this book looks like it is for beginners, it contain extremely important and insightful information for enthusiasts at all levels. Rather than just giving you do’s and don’t’s it helps the reader understands the dynamics. Great pictures and great content
Dennis C.
Excellent book for a beginner however two of the chapters provided enough new information to make it worthwhile
Louis B.
I've been loving Bonsai for years (trying to do it, and studying it). Whereas this book might seem nominal to the "experts", the pictures are more than inspiring and there could be a thing or two the "experts" might not know (chapter 9, especially, about soils). Once again, Stone Lantern delivered my book well beyond I thought it would get here (they have a habit of getting my orders delivered quickly). Very happy with Stone Lantern and everything I've ordered with them. I will continue to do business with them, for a long time.
Kristen W.
A very well-written book, with many beautiful photos, and tons of practical advice following Harrington's artistic philosophy of using inexpensive tools and materials to create stunning trees. This book would prove to be very useful for hobbyists hoping to take their passion to the next level.
Barbara H.
First of all, I have to say that the range of outstanding bonsai specimens depicted in this book is jaw-dropping. If you want to see some of the best examples of bonsai perfectly displayed and awesomely photographed, you'll be happy with this book.
However, if you actually want to learn anything about bonsai, you'll be--as I was--crushingly disappointed. Not because the book hasn't anything to offer on the subject, but because you literally can't read it.
Apparently someone decided a book about tiny trees should be published in a tiny type font. And when I say tiny, I mean illegibly tiny. Epic fail tiny. Useless tiny. Micro-dot sized tiny. Electron-microscope-required-to-read-it tiny. Unbelievably tiny.
Hopefully the publisher will take pity on the bonsai community and use at least an 11-point BOLD font in a revised edition. Which I will buy, because I'd love to some day be able to read this book.
