"Pocket Bonsai" by David Prescott
ISBN: 1-84330-586-0
192 pages with tons of colour photographs.
$14.95(US) $22.95(Can) £9.99(UK)

While nowhere near small enough to fit in your pocket, this book is packed with lots of information. It's a great beginner book and covers:

Choosing
Repotting
Watering
Wiring
Pests
Cultivating new Bonsai
Displaying
Anatomy
Lists 17 styles of Bonsai
Feeding
Buying pre-made Bonsai
Tool selection, use, and care
Pots and soil type
Lists a "Directory" of 26 of the most common tree species used as Bonsai with photo of each.

And, it has a nice Glossary of terms used. There's a little more but I'm sure you get the idea. I've read it about 6 times now and I still flip through it on occasion. It doesn't overwhelm you with information and is readily readable.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the author is bias on straying from traditional styles. He actually looks down on the Banken style (Spiral Trunk) saying, "Any species can be ruined by having this style applied to it!" If not done correctly that statement could be said about any style. Not that I have a bonsai in that style, but I have seen some VERY impressive and beautiful Banken style Bonsai. Bonsai is art after all.

Thank you for the great advice about the book and I am going to check into it.

Thank you.

My suggestion for a general all around book with a lot of information is BONSAI, put out by Sunset Publications. You ought to find it at any of the booksellers, or even Home Depot or Lowes.
Enjoy
Jim Rieden

A variety of forums posts related to bonsai books can be found here.

Also, just see what's at your local library. Most have at least one or two books on bonsai. It's important to get a lot of exposure to different authors and different viewpoints on the same subject, and the library's the cheapest way to do so!

-Audric