G-972,
For beginning,I'd recommend you contact the Bromeliad Society International Inc. at their website WWW.BSI.ORG,and find their listing for their excellent cultural manual,Bromeliads. I think its only $3.50,and packed with all the info you need to know for starting an interest in broms. This manual is also available from the
Book Section of a good bromeliad supplier,Tropiflora,for the same price, (see their website,at WWW.TROPIFLORA.COM )
There are a few other books that are really good as well,but far more expensive [$30 (to $1000 for
'Blooming Bromeliads',if you can find it,being out of publication;some times on e-bay)].Another very informative book is 'Growing Bromeliads' by the Bromeliad Society of Australia.Might be available thru Amazon.Com.
But the best place to start is with my first suggestion,
'Bromeliads,a Cultural Manual'
Good reading !
Bob

I borrowed Bromeliads for the Contemporary Garden from my local library, it's also available for sale at Amazon for as low as $7.47.

You can preview it on Google by clicking on the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Google Book Link

Ron Parkhurst from Hawaii has a very nice book, mainly pictures. It was my first bromeliad book and I got hooked! I agree with Bob, the Bromeliad society has a great informative manual that will give you valuable information. Best of Luck!

As Bob's, so do I, and also the "BROMELIACEAE III" by Francisco Oliva-Esteve
which has a lot of hard to find species photos.

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I'm partial to Esteves' first tome; BROMELIADS. The habitat and location photos alone are worth the price. Many, many stand-out photos of Tillandsia, and the one genus that seems to be ungrowable; Navia. Does anyone have any experience with Navia? The New Tillandsia Handbook by Hiro is excellent although the majority of the text is in Japanese.

Regarding the book "Bromeliad" by Oliva-Esteve.

I just received it via mail and it is fantastic. However, the photographic quality of some of the pictures is just bad for nowadays standards. I understand, and don't mind, that these are taken on excursions and can not be as professional as studio pictures, but there is some important retouching that can be done to improve them in the production stage that is now missing. It's disappointing. Also, the design is very dull. With all my respects to the designer, who is also the author(!), it's not the greatest book design, not for a book that is so expensive and has to last forever in everyone's library! It's such a great book, information wise, that i find such a pity that it's not as beautiful as it could have been.

Ah, the exalted, elusive, New Tillandsia Handbook. Don't know where I could get a copy of that do ya?

Mike

I've never come across anything I liked half as much as "Blooming Bromeliads" by Baensch, but as Bob says, it's out of print now and very expensive if you can find it. It covers all of the bases, though-- cultural tips and habitat photos, but mainly the most comprehensive ID section I've ever seen in print, and among the best photographed too.

Really, though, you can find all of this information and more just by surfing FCBS, and it won't cost you a dime!

Here is a link that might be useful: FCBS

Just last month I snagged Esteves' "Bromeliaceae lll" for $35 and Rauh's book for $30. Not too bad.
Mike, you should be able to get Hiro's book somewhere, try Birdrock Tropicals.

Thanks Gonzer, I will contact Bird Rock.

Rauh's book I do have (very Tillandsia-heavy)

Happy Growing,
Mike