I thought that Bill Cullina had recently put out a book that included mosses (as well as grasses and ferns). Is this book insufficient? Or are you imagining a different approach?

Just curious.

thanks esh for the comment.
No I am not interested in publishing a moss book. As far as I am concerned such an endeavor, unless it is tied to some kind of doctorate program at a university, is a simple waste of time and money.
But I know of a person who has a far fetched notion to do such a book but it is folly. Reason why is that the market for such a book is minimal, perhaps 300 people WORLDWIDE would actually buy such a book, if that many at all. And a book that costs thousands of dollars to publish is going to cost alot of money at retail and that will further restrict the saleability of the book.
I just wanted to measure whatever interest there might be by those who visit these forums and if they had any opinions to share that would shed some light on this subject. Perhaps the person I am thinking about would be one of these visitors and would profit from the comments found here.
Note: I have already provided my advice and it was rejected.
I think it is time to measure the dream in light of the reality! So if you have an opinion as to my basic questions above please do share! Thanks as you might help someone make a SOUND judgement in this matter!

I think it is tough to make a go of it with books these days. As you said, with the internet I can find many pictures now, so I would not use a book if I knew what I was looking for. And a book without pictures would be suitable for an eReader device and likely not sold as much in print.

Now if the book was a useful means for identification, that might be helpful - similar to books used for other plants, it would have a key for identification, useful pictures as well, range maps, etc. Perhaps include some information on propagation.

For identification of plants, I much prefer books with keys and good morphological and habitat descriptions, as well as detailed line drawings of reproductive structures. The internet just doesn't cut it in that arena - there are too many similar species that can't be separated by a couple photos. A moss version of Godfrey and Wooten's book would be nice, for example.

For identifying mosses in the upper Midwest and Northeast it would be hard to improve upon Crum's Mosses of the Great Lakes Forest. Color photos could be useful for identifying the larger more distinct species, but detailed line drawings are best for more detailed study.

A professionally written book on moss cultivation might appeal to some gardeners provided it isn't the usual anecdotal stuff. I could see an entire chapter being devoted to dispelling common misconceptions, like mosses only grow on the north side of trees, they all prefer acid soil, etc. I would imagine there are books like that out there already. I also suspect that people loose interest anytime the information gets technical, which is hard to avoid when dealing with mosses.

I've been on the net for decades. I know how to find information on-line - had to do that as part of my job for years so I'm good at it. But I still like ink-and-paper books. And I still buy ink-and-paper books. I prefer the best of both worlds - books plus the info I find online. They can very nicely compliment one another.

Unfortunately, I think mine is a dwindling opinion. People seem to prefer the "cheapness" of the information on the net more and more. By cheap I mean both free and superficial. I'm not saying books are necessarily better, but for non-fiction topics they tend to be more in depth and better researched than most of what is available online. Oh we all know some really wonderful and detailed websites but we sifted through a lot of chaff to find them.

As far as a moss book specifically, I would only be interested in a such a book if it were a field guide with pictures and identification keys for my region. I would imagine such a book would find the greatest appeal for other people as well but what would a new book offer that others of that kind already in-print aren't offering? What would distinguish it? Why would someone want to buy it as opposed to one of the others in print? That I think is the challenge your friend would need to answer first.

FataMorgana

ps.....books need not cost thousands of dollars to publish but the cost is completely dependent upon what needs to go into creating the book. A small first book project is also a wise suggestion.