Nature Books of Iceland
* This guide was published in 2014 by the Crossbill Guides Foundation, famous fot their for nature tracking guides for many countries. You can find them on www.crossbillguides.org. The first edition of this guide has been published late 2014. Let me quote one line from the back sleeve: "This guide will take you to the best places to see birds, flowers and sea mammals, to explore geology and fascinating ecology of Iceland." This a guide any nature-loving traveler should take along when traveling to Iceland or - if you consider the weight of a small book to be to much - read this book in advance of your trip. Excellent!
* ICELANDIC WILDERNESS: This is a magnificent collection of one of Icelandic's top nature photographers being Daníel Bergmann. Not only are the images superb, also the descriptions reflect his great warmth towards - and understanding of Iceland's Natural History. The subtitle "A photographic Journey" fits the mood of this book: while reading and viewing the photo's one will naturally wander off in the mind into the Icelandic wilderness. The English edition has the ISBN no. 9979-775-45-9. It can be obtained from the publisher and at all major bookstores in Reykjavik and elsewhere on Iceland.
Title: ICELANDIC WILDERNESS - A Photographic Journey
Author: Daníel Bergmann
Publisher: JPV Publishers, Reykjavik, 2003
ISBN: 9979-775-45-9
Plants and Vegetation
* The standard field guide on Icelandic plants is by the botany professor Hörður Kristinsson of the University of Iceland. Next to Icelandic edition exits an English and a German edition. The English edition has the ISBN no. 9979-3-1723-X. It can be obtained at all major bookstores in Reykjavik and elsewhere on Iceland.
Title: A Guide to the FLOWERING PLANTS and FERNS of ICELAND
Author: Hörður Kristinsson
Publisher: Mál og menning, Reykjavik, Iceland
ISBN: 9979-3-1723-X
311 pages
* A standard field guide to the North-Western and Northern European flora".
It covers all flowering plants of the described region
It also specifies for each species where it can be found in Europe. So for any species occuring on Iceland (but for the rarest) it is stated as such
Title: WILD FLOWERS of BRITAIN and NORTHERN EUROPE
Authors: Richard Fittar, Allistair Fitter and Majorie Blamey
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN: 0 00 220062 7
352 pages>
* A scientific book in German on the vegetation of the Nordic European countries was written by Klaus Dierßen assisted by Barbara Dierßen. This is a book for vegetation specilaists whith emphasis on the continental nordic countries. However the book contains (for the lay-men) interesting paragraphs on the Icelandic vegetation as well as the resettlement of plant species on Icleland after the glacial periods
Title: Vegetation Nordeuropas
Author: Klaus Dierßen
Publisher: Verlag Eugen Ulmer Stuttgart
ISBN: 3-8001-2700-8 or 3-8252-8115-9
838 pages
Birds
* This is the best guide to Icelandic bird life up to date. Both photography and the amount of information is all but excellent. Apart from the extensive amount of information on bird species on Iceland it also has a special photo-illustrated paragraph on eggs and additional information on birding activities and organisations on Iceland. A multilangual table is handy for non-native English speaking people. The main body of this book - the photo-illustrated treatment of birdspecies is a joy for any bird-lover to read.
Title: Icelandic Bird Guide
Author: Jóhann Óli Hilmarsson
Publisher: Iðunn , Reykjavik 2000
ISBN: 9979-1-0379-5
193 pages
* The "Guide to the Birds of Iceland" is an older guide to the birds of Iceland. Both illustrations and information are inferrior to the Icelandic Bird Guide". It has one advantage though: the soft paperback makes this book more handsome to take along during hiking.
Title: Guide to the Birds of Iceland
Author: þorsteinn Einarsson
Publisher: Örn og Örlygur Publishing House
ISBN:9979-55-007-4
235 pages
* This book is not specifically aimed at Iceland. However, given the importance of Iceland with respect to alcidae breeding grounds this is an excellent compilation of scientific knowledge on birds like puffins, razorbills, guillemots etc. that it should be noted here. It treats a broad range of items like evolution, anatomy, behaviour, reproduction, ecology and migration routes. For anyone interested in in-depth knowledge on this group of birds this is a must even though it is not a recent publication.
Title:The Atlantic Alcidae
Landscapes and Geology
* This is a publication on the geology of Iceland. The authors are Thor Thordurson of the University of Hawai and Armann Hoskuldsson of the South Iceland Institute of Natural History. This book is the third publication in the series on "Classical Geology in Europe" For those who want a deeper understanding of the Icelandic geology - especialy its vulcanic natur - this is a must"C"
The bibliographical data are:
Title:Classic Geology in Europe 3: Iceland
Author:Thor Thordurson and Armann Hoskuldsson
Publisher: Terra Publishing
ISBN: 1-903544-06-8
200 pages
* This is thé book on Iceland's geology. It treats both chemical mineralogy, volcanism on Iceland with respect to landscape formation and history and to some extent the role of Iceland as a "hotspot" in the formation of the Atlantic Ocean. It also treats the long-term history of Iceland through the past millions of yaers. As a layman I would like to make a criticism regarding to the order in which topics are treated. Like most other geological introductions it starts with chemical mineralogy. However, the first impression of visitors to Iceland are landscape impressions. A cold treatise on mineralogy as a start for understanding geology (of Iceland for example) is not helpfull. It should actually come as last. The macro features should be the starting point(s).
Title: Geology of Iceland
Author: þorleifur Einarsson
Publisher: Mál og menning
ISBN:9979-3-0689-0
309 pages