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The internet isn't done disrupting printed media either.
I don't have any of Dr Hessayon's books, but I have probably nearly 100 other gardening books, ranging from 'cheap and cheerful' basic books I bought when I was getting into gardening, right up to 'top end' books like New Trees by John Grimshaw.
The internet is unchecked and unedited; there is nothing to stop me writing on my own website that cacti will live outdoors in Scotland, or that leylandii make excellent trees for an alpine sink. There is an assumption, hopefully not unfounded, that books have been checked and edited for mistakes, that cultivars listed are correct. I have found errors in books (I looked at a monograph on Hydrangeas and they had exactly the same picture for two different plants!) but not very often.
The other advantage I feel to books is that they are easily portable, don't rely on batteries/power, and are easy to browse; I've found all sorts of plants or information when I was looking for something else. I, for one, will happily use the internet, but for authority on something I will go to a book.
Dr. Hessayon, or Dave to his mates is a hero in my eyes, i probably first picked up the tree and shrub expert 30+ years ago, his series of books were the ones i reached for - it was so easy to find what you needed.... unlike the internet....
when i grew up, there were a a hard core of other excellent books i relied heavily on, like the Hillier manual, buckzacki/harris p&d book, some brian davis and martin rix stuff, the old sanders encylopaedia and the rhs plant manual - but Hessayons were my first experience of gardening books.
the internet seems to me to be more of a marketplace, and information becomes harder to come by as time goes by.
glad to hear he's still out there, even if he is finally retiring
I still have them but because of the internet I would say the last time I lifted one up was 5years ago to move them to some new shelves, but 10years ago that one was actually opened.
Internets is not killing of books, in fact its books we use when the internet is down and unlike alot of people nowadays who hardly ever read a book, personally i love reading deep into a book, yes internet is great and has its uses but you cant beat some lovely old books my oldest gardening book is from 1940's and even included prices in the old english currency of shilling and pennies although i have read it over 30-40 times i still get that nostalgic feeling everytime i pick it up and yet novels sit on my shelf gathering dust. Yes i still have over one hundred gardening book and the collection will always continue to grow.
"The internet is unchecked and unedited; there is nothing to stop me writing on my own website that cacti will live outdoors in Scotland, or that leylandii make excellent trees for an alpine sink. There is an assumption, hopefully not unfounded, that books have been checked and edited for mistakes, that cultivars listed are correct."
I do agree Ben but only to a slight extent.
In the internet's early days it was probably fair to say that thos who knew how to explot search engines could get content to the top of search results, regardless of the facts or information contained within its text.
Now, content is pushed to the top of SERPS because of the endorsement of those who accept its validity. Using the same rule, erroneous text is relegated (eventually).
I'm not saying that there's not poor content still residing high within SERPS but as the internet continues to mature, the processes for validating content get stronger.
Also, one of the good things about publishing to the internet is that the author can make corrections after mistakes are pointed out. A published book, on the other hand, remains faulty and mistakes can only be rectifies when a book is re-printed...but the original, remains faulty.
BensBotanics said:
I see your point, Phil, after all we all have books with old plant names listed!
Just imagine if Hessayon had made all of his books available as ebooks, he could have had the best of both worlds:)
So true, Phil,
Can be unedited websites or cheaper books and can be experts websites and books.
The world is changing, no point to sit on the fence and say it is not good.
The internet can offer him to use his reputation to market his books at lower costs to much wider audience.
( I have that book btw , and hundreds others that i used abroad and in the UK ) this days can use them only for our own garden.