The supplemental readings are arranged in the order that subject matter appears in the book. Within subjects, entries are listed in alphabetical order. The references are sources of specific information quoted in the book.
The Control of Nature. McPhee, John. 1989. New York: Farrar, Strauss, Giroux. 272 pp. The section titled “Los Angeles against the Mountains” describes the danger and drama of floods and mud from mountainous chaparral, in the compelling prose of one of the best nature writers of our time.
The Elfin-Forest of California. Fultz, Francis M. 1927. Los Angeles: The Times-Mirror Press. 277 pp. Delightful reading, but somewhat difficult to find.
An Island Called California. 2nd ed. Bakker, Elna S. 1984. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 484 pp. An elegant description of California's natural history that places chaparral in a spatial context.
A Natural History of California. Schoenherr, Allan A. 1992. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 772 pp. An excellent ecological overview of the state, with discussions of chaparral and its organisms throughout.
Weather of Southern California. Bailey, Harry P. 1966. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 87 pp. A concise overview of weather phenomena in the southern half of the state.
Weather of the San Francisco Bay Region. 2nd ed. Gilliam, Harold. 2002. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 107 pp. An up-to-date review of Bay Area weather.
Fire in America: A Cultural History of Wildland and Rural Fire. Pyne, Stephen J. 1997. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 654 pp. A large, comprehensive, scholarly overview of the role wildfires have played in the history and culture of the United States.
Introduction to California Plant Life. Ornduff, Robert, Phyllis M. Faber, and Todd Keeler-Wolf. 2003. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 340 pp. An excellent overview of all California vegetation, including chaparral, for the general reader.
The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. Hickman, James C. 1993. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 1,400 pp. The definitive volume for identifying all naturally occurring California plants. This is a technical volume intended for users with botanical training.
A Manual of California Vegetation. Sawyer, John O., and Todd Keeler-Wolf. 1995. Sacramento: California Native Plant Society. 471 pp. A detailed classification of the vegetation of California designed for land managers and other specialists. This standard reference can be easily used by nonspecialists. A Web-based version is available: http://davisherb.ucdavis.edu/cnpsActiveServer/index.html, accessed January 2006.
Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates. Dallman, Peter R. 1998. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 257 pp. A wide-ranging overview of the vegetation of all five mediterranean climate areas, well written and illustrated.
Trees and Shrubs of California. Stuart, John D., and John O. Sawyer. 2001. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 467 pp. The best available book for statewide field identification of most common woody plants of chaparral.
Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Robbins, Chandler S., Bertel Bruun, and Herbert S. Zim. 2001. New York: St. Martin's Press. 360 pp. A very useful book, among many, for identifying birds in the field.
California Insects. Powell, Jerry A., and Charles L. Hogue. 1979. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 388 pp. A user-friendly volume for identification of common types of insects found in chaparral.
California Mammals. 2nd ed. Jameson, E.W., and Hans J. Peeters. 2004. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 432 pp. Good for identifying mammals of chaparral.
Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 2nd ed. Stebbins, Robert C. 1998. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 336 pp. The definitive field book for the identification of reptiles and amphibians in the western United States.
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. Sibley, David Allen. 2003. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 473 pp. A guide for field identification with multiple drawings of each species and unusually comprehensive descriptions.
California Native Plants for the Garden. Bornstein, Carol, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien. 2005. Los Olivos, Calif.: Cachuma Press. 271 pp. Useful and authoritative guide for anyone interested in growing California native plants. Beautifully illustrated.
Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California. Halsey, Richard W. 2005. San Diego: Sunbelt Publications. 188 pp. Ways to deal with chaparral wildfires in southern California, with sections written by a number of experts. This is a good source book for preparing for wildfires.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 2002. Fire Hazard Zoning Field Guide. http://osfm.fire.ca.gov/zoning.html, accessed January 2006.
Clar, C. Raymond. 1959. California Government and Forestry. Sacramento: California Division of Forestry.
Dana, Richard Henry. 1949. Two Years before the Mast. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.
Dole, Jim W., and Betty B. Rose. 1996. An Amateur Botanist's Identification Manual for the Shrubs and Trees of the Southern California Coastal Region and Mountains. North Hills, Calif.: Foot-loose Press.
Keeley, Sterling C., ed. 1989. The California Chaparral: Paradigms Reexamined. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Robinson, Alfred. 1925. Life in California before the Conquest. Thomas C. Russell, ed. San Francisco: Thomas C. Russell.
Vancouver, George. 1984. George Vancouver: A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World, 1791-1795, vol. 3. W. Kaye Lamb, ed. London: The Hakluyt Society.