If you have good nebari but no trunk, you don't have a nice tree. If you have a nice trunk but not nebari, you have a tree.
Well, I do not completely agree with the above statement; if you have a trunk and no nebari, you have surely a tree, but not a nice bonsai.
Which is exactly what I am saying about the books; they emphasize the importance of the nebari, which tends to be forgotten in the long run.
As I have said, perhaps the wrong books?
So you don't think these are nice bonsai?
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Nebari can add a lot to a Bonsai. But for a beginner, I don't think we should worry so much about it. No trunk, no bonsai, no tree, no nothing. If we tell people who are working on their first tree, that they have to focus on nebari, they won't achieve anything. If you are an advanced bonsai artist, and understand the beginnings of Bonsai. Go for it.
Of course I am using a juniper as an example, which don't exhibit the best nebari.