You wouldn't think a plant pathology text with the title "Diseases of Trees and Shrubs" could double as a coffee-table book. But given its subject matter, the handsomely designed and revised second edition of Wayne A. Sinclair's masterwork is quite fetching to the eye. Sinclair is a Cornell University professor emeritus of plant pathology.

First published in 1987 by Cornell University Press, "Diseases of Trees and Shrubs" has become a standard reference for plant health specialists, plant diagnosticians, horticulturists, arborists, foresters and their students. Many of the original pictures (there are 2,200 color photographs alone) were shot by Howard H. Lyon, a photographer with the Cornell plant pathology department from 1950 to 1985, whose name is prominently displayed on the dust cover on which a Lyon original is printed. The jacket cover itself was designed by Kent Loeffler, also a photographer in the plant pathology department at Cornell.

Thoroughly revised, fully updated and illustrated with more than 2,200 digitally optimized color images in 261 full-color plates and more than 350 black-and-white photographs and drawings, the second edition is an unrivaled survey of the diseases of forest and shade trees and woody ornamental plants in the United States and Canada.

The book is both an authoritative reference book and a powerful diagnostic tool. Organized according to type of disease-inducing agent, the second edition is also designed to be helpful in classroom and field instruction. Symptoms, signs and cycles of hundreds of diseases are described, and microscopic features of many pathogens are depicted in photos and line drawings.

A searchable CD-ROM included with the book contains bibliographic entries for more than 4,500 works that readers can consult for additional information or images.

The first edition of "Diseases" was praised by The Washington Post and many experts in the field as one of the 10 best horticultural books of the 20th century. It is likely to yield the same accolade in the 21st century.