I was surprised when I began reading "Wicked Plants....Although it is a small book, embellished with line drawings, it is rather like a dictionary in style. That is, alphabetical, among different sections depending upon the category the author places the plants. I think it is quite informative in an easy to read style.The most annoying thing is the old magazine editor gimmick of making a little box quoting a bit of text from the same paragraph I am reading. Quite unnecessary, and pads the book pages, I so dislike paying for needless repetition. The paper of the pages feels odd, it has a slightly rough surface, which I noticed as I smoothed open the pages before reading. Also, I noticed the binding doesn't have the front and back blank pages to adhere to the coverboards and spine, which seems like an odd economy to me, as I have handled thousands of books, and not seen this before. This means additional stress to the book cover as the book is open, yet the spine has a flexible fabric strip. The page numbering is odd, it's 2/3 way down the page in the margin in a decorated box, but the index uses the page number for each entry, so it's not so easy to find the page wanted. Other than these quirks, the book has very good information, usually with a little story attached to each plant listed. There is a good bibliography. I was surprised at the sound quality of the information. I like the dry humor, and the short format. The author keeps it brief, but the important facts are presented in plain English. It's good for people who are concerned that they may have poisonous houseplants, etc. Some common names, local names and Latin names are provided.