Letter to the Editor
It appears that there is a considerable misunderstanding about the status of my book,
Rhododendrons of the World
, from the inquiries which have been received as to why the "second edition" differs so little from the first.
In fact, there is no second edition. No one who already owns a copy of this work should purchase another at this time with the expectation of receiving other than the original text. The confusion seems to arise because there has been a second printing, which signifies a facsimile reproduction of the first.
Perhaps the impression is complicated by knowledge on the part of some of my rhododendron friends that I have been working on the manuscript for a second edition, which will truly constitute a revision of the original. However, publication is several years away. The next edition will include an extensive treatment of azaleas, and of Malaysian rhododendrons. The entire undertaking, which has just begun, is of such magnitude that an enormous amount of work remains to be done. The first edition now in print was eight years in preparation.
In the meantime, I am shepherding to a new edition Frederic Lee's classic,
The Azalea Book
, which will be published in updated, paperback form in coming months by The American Horticultural Society. Many members of the American Rhododendron Society have contributed information for this revised and enlarged version, and I am grateful to them all.
Sincerely,
David G. Leach