Dear Susan: Some of the general bulb books I have really enjoyed are as follows: "Best Bulbs for Temperate Climates" Jack Hobbs & Terry Hatch - Timber Press "Bulbous Plants of Southern Africa" Niel DuPlessis & Graham Duncan "Spring and Winter Flowering Bulbs of the Cape" Barbara Jeppe "Bulbs of North America" Jane McGary, ed. - Timber Press "Garden Bulbs for the South" Scott Ogden "Bulbs for Warm Climates" Thad Howard "Bulbs" John Bryan - Timber Press "Bulbs for the Rock Garden" Jack Elliott These days I usually refer mostly to monographs, but I still refer back to all of the above and several are indispensible for a library focused on bulbs. Anything by Brian Mathew (not listed above) is to be snatched up, but some of his books are no longer in print. Diana