FoldingGuides™ Bird Guides Press Information

As the former Director of the Peterson Field Guide Series™, Steven Lewers has had a longstanding interest in nature identification. When he first saw the print, die-cut, and lamination process patented by FastMark, Inc. of Palo-Alto, CA and used in FoldingGuides™, he was convinced that it was the ideal format for curious beginners in the field.

Having completed a consulting project with FastMark, Inc. to introduce its laminated guide format to book publishers looking for new line extension, Lewers couldn't resist the temptation to publish an experimental guide of his own-- The Ultimate Guide to Sanibel & Captiva Shells and Beach Life was first published in 1999 and launched what is now its FoldingGuide™ Series.

"We tried Sanibel Shells first because it was a perfect test of our idea: laminated guides on very specific areas, using high quality illustrations (not photographs) and species lists and captions written by local experts, are much more useful than general books and field guides, especially for the beginner.

With the small islands of Sanibel and Captiva FL, incontrovertibly the ground zero of shelling in North America, and with the profusion of other seashell guidebooks available in all the shops there, this first guide was a perfect proof-of-concept for our line."

Sanibel Shells & Beach Life, along with the 5 other shell identification FoldingGuides™, have gone on to become standard references for their respective locales.

Using the same editorial formula and patented laminated format, Steven Lewers & Associates then tackled bird identification to some of the same regions where its shell guides have become so popular. Species lists, captions, and map call-outs were written by Floridian bird expert Bev Postmus, a former schoolteacher who now leads birding tours in Sanibel's famous J.N. Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary. And illustrations were drawn by Ernest C. Simmons, Sarasota-based fine artist and bird specialist.

There are currently three bird titles:

Sanibel & Captiva Birds
Birds of Florida's Gulf Coast
Birds of South Florida

FoldingGuides™ are available in local gift shops, museum and nature stores, bookstores, and on the web at www.foldingguides.com

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