Thanks for your concise questions!

John Naka's book is considered the best book in the business by many enthusiasts. Of course, no book is a substitute for personal teaching by an experienced hobbyist or a master.

As to your second question, reread the article in context. You can do this with deciduous trees only, and some of them don't take as well to it as others. Some tropicals are also able to handle this. Conifers must always have some foliage left on, as much as 50% for some species to survive.

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I am also a beginner and I have both Naka's 1 & 2 books and think it was money well spent. I haven't had the time to take classes, so I am really just following Naka's techniques books until I'm able to get some class time. You won't be disapointed with these books. JW

well, yeah, you will be disappointed if you expect practical "first bonsai" kind of advice. Naka's books aren't really meant for beginners. They really weren't meant to be books. They are compilations of short articles he wrote for his classes (which weren't for beginners). Bonsai Techniques II, particularly isn't going to be of much help if you're trying to get the hang of how to water your tree. It is a book for more advanced bonsai folks and the detailed information on pot selection, makers and images is likely to leave someone just starting out just plain confused.

While the books are excellent for many things, they're not the best starter material. Peter Chan, Colin Lewis, Harry Tomlinson and others have produced books that offer more concise books for beginners.

Don't get me wrong, these books should be part of every bonsaist's collection. They aren't my first choice, though, of ideal beginners' books, especially when they command more then $40 and up, for each, nowadays...

i am a beginner and havent even purchased a book yet. please suggest one. and i have several apple tree seedlings can they be used? thanks looking forward to this new endeavor anthony

Harry Tomlinson's "The Complete Book of Bonsai' is very good, as are a lot of Colin Lewis's more recent ones, and look up Paul Lesniewicz's 'Indoor Bonsai" for tropicals. Almost anything with a woody trunk can be tried, and apple is as good a place to start as any. But plant them in the ground for now and wait 3-5 yrs for them to be old enough to bonsai. In-ground is the fastest way to grow them.

To start practicing on a specimen now, go to a garden center and buy a 1-3 gallon size plant and start practicing. Miniature rose, juniper, boxwood... there are lots of choices for reasonable prices, even at the Home Depot!

As for books... I have been into bonsai for less than a year but into plants for 20 years or so, since I was 10. The only book Ive bought and read has been The Bonsai Handbook by David Prescott. I find it covers every thing a beginer should know and goes into enough detail to perform layering and other somewhat advanced techniques. The rest of my info has come from this form or research on the net.
I also have a local bonsai shop where the owner loves to just talk and answer questions. I suggest you become a regular at your bonsai shop. Sure, they are ususaly a bit more expensive than Home depot, but the advice you get is 10,000 times better.
-Bill