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List Price: £4.99
Our Price: £1.16
Author:
Patrick Harding
By Collins
 Interesting and Informative, 2007-08-10
All the Collins Gem books are great for keeping in your pocket if you are out on a field trip for the day and this one is no exception. The photographs are first class and the descriptions of the individual fungi clear and concise. The book describes almost 240 different species of mushroom and toadstool (when you've read the book you will know the difference). Their habitats, size, appearance and also whether they are poisonous or not.
They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and with fungi it could be fatal. The book goes out of its way to show which fungi are edible and which are poisonous. Personally I prefer to err on the side of caution and buy mine from the supermarket.
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £4.68
Author:
Michael Pollan
By Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
A quartette of posies, 2005-10-02
Right. Let's get the one fault out of the way quickly. This book isn't "a plant's-eye view of the world." It could be better subtitled "A Botanical Biography." No matter. This well-researched and wonderfully written group of essays examines the world of four mundane plants, the apple, tulip, hemp and potatoe. Pollan describes how each have played major roles in human affairs.In America, "Johnny Appleseed" is a giant figure in the mythology of the Ohio Valley. Pollan describes the life of his real-life counterpart, John Chapman. Apart from repeats of the Disney film of this character, it would be interesting to know how many remember the migratory apple orchardist of the early 19th Century today. In reviving Chapman's memory [I'd never heard of him - there is no Canadian counterpart.], Pollan takes us on a well-developed history of this valuable fruit. An emigrant from ancient Kazakhstan, it may have been brought to the West along the famous silk road, according to Pollan. Along with the silk came the process of grafting, invented by the Chinese. Pollan's reminds us that an apple's taste, which we usually consider a human reaction, was attractive to many animals, leading to its wide propagation. Pollan moves from fruit to flower. The tulip, that quintessential symbol of the Netherlands, was the first flower to influence major economic activity. He describes the frantic "tulipomania" that swept that country in the 17th Century. Beautiful flowers are desired by most people, but to insects, Pollan notes, it means pollen and nectar. Flowers need insects to ensure pollination - no insects, no more flowers. Pollan suggests our own view of "beauty" derives from these evolutionary roots. Pollan's choice of hemp, in its use as marijuana, will have raised a few eyebrows. As a symbol of "intoxication," he opens the essay with a description of plant toxins. Toxins, Pollan reminds us, are capable of rendering the victim dead, or at least incapacitated. Since plants and animals have a history of coevolution, deadly toxins are often counterproductive. Besides, making them ties up much of the plant's resources. Evolution led many plants to produce toxins that merely confuse or disable the predator. Enter the human. Plant chemistry is the basis of nearly all pharmaceuticals. Pollan notes the properties of nicotine and caffeine on animals. Marijuana's effects, as he notes, have a potential that goes beyond body chemistry. His account of "mary jane" plants behind his barn is easily the most
entertaining episode in the book. Returning to edible [for humans] plants, Pollan re-introduces us to the potato - often overlooked, but of immense value. He views the potato as the ideal symbol for the rise of agriculture. "Agriculture is, by its very nature, brutally reductive, simplifying nature's incredibly complexity so something humanly manageable." This simplification has made the crop potato susceptible to blights, as the Irish learned to their dismay. Pollan, a consummate gardener, examines the possibilities of the Monsanto genetically-engineered NewLeaf potato. It has its own insecticide locked in its DNA. The experiment leads him to visit potato farmers for some enlightening exchanges of ideas and opinion. This book seizes your attention from the first pager. Pollan's polished style and easy wit holds your interest throughout. Whether you've ever gardened for fruits, vegetables or flowers, you will be captivated by these offerings. It's a difficult book to put down, and taking it up again may offer missed rewards later. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
List Price: £12.00
Our Price: £7.58
Author:
Patrick O'Brian
By The Harvill Press
Devotees of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels will know already the author's total immersion into the social, political, scientific and naval worlds of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The life of Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), naturalist, botanist and explorer who sailed with Captain Cook to the South Seas, has long been one of O'Brian's primary resources; so it is only fitting that he should also be Banks's biographer. Any other writer might have produced a worthy study of the scientist; O'Brian provides an affectionate account of the man, as well as illuminating with seemingly effortless erudition Banks's discoveries and those of his contemporaries. Encompassing as it does all of O'Brian's polymath fascinations, the only remarkable thing about this book is that he did not write it sooner. The novelist's eye for detail, familiar from the naval stories, is evident here (when Banks sails for Newfoundland in 1766 we learn, as a matter of course, that on April 22 the wind from Plymouth was east-north-east) as is his absorbing and witty prose style. Drawing extensively on Banks's letters and journals, the author also has to hand any number of illuminating reference...
A Celebration of an un-sung 18th Century Hero, 2002-04-22
Sir Joseph Banks was a ground-breaker in many ways. Patrick O'Brian also paints a portrait of the man as likeable and (with the occasional stumble) down-to-earth. Banks wove his way through British, Australian and European history almost without notice. This book goes some way to celebrating the man and his influence. Of interest, I'd say, to economic historians, political historians, colonial historians, naval historians and horticultural historians (to name but a few) - amateur and professional alike.
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £1.36
Author:
Barbara Kingsolver
By Faber and Faber
How come I didn't notice all the smugness? , 2008-09-10
A few other reviews have drawn attention to Barbara Kingsolver's "smugness", including one person who liked the book but doesn't want her round for dinner.
I'm usually really sensitive to people being a bit too pleased with themselves, but I didn't think this book was like that at all. I thought it was touchingly hilarious about the weeks that they ended up just bottling tomatoes for days on end. And I loved all the information about intensive farming, agribusiness seed companies, and terminator genes - like a good article in the Sunday paper.
Most of all I found the book really inspiring. It made me pay attention to where my food came from, much more than I already did. I have always tried to eat seasonally and avoided food imports, but I found myself really being intrigued by her model, where you stuff your face with a couple of foodstuffs until you are heartily sick of them, by which time something else is coming into season. It's just such a different way of doing things. I don't know if it'll ever totally catch (back?) on, but my god, she makes a persuasive case.
List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £8.97
Author:
Mary Gribbin, John Gribbin
By OUP Oxford
beautiful cover, 2008-08-02
This book is a true inspiration to all garden lovers and even those who are not yet addicted to plants and gardens. It's well researched, easy to read and understand and with beautiful illustrations (especially those by Marianne North) it's a perfect present. John and Mary Gribbin have the talent of bringing together the story of eleven flower hunters, without compromising the scientific facts, and have created a very interesting book in their usual accessible style. This has pride of place on my coffee table and is a very important addition to my collection of gardening and flower books. I'm looking forward to the next one!
List Price: £18.99
Our Price: £10.40
Author:
Andrea Wulf
By William Heinemann Ltd
 History of early Botany - written in the traditional style., 2008-08-28
I had this bought for me last Christmas and I must admit feel a bit sheepish having only just read it. In short, it is the history of the early British botanists from the 1700s and the accompanying revolution in plant cultivation, horticulture and general botanical discovery. One of those subject areas that always fascinates but is hardly touched upon by history curricula in school or college. I particularly enjoyed the written style of Andrea Wulf's text. It was reminiscent of Arthur Bryant's 'Set in a Silver Sea'. That is to say, history written as an Arts subject rather than a political or social science, which it so often is these days. A lively, rich and entertaining narrative that produces a truly interesting book on our national craze.
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £5.14
Author:
David Beerling
By OUP Oxford
Arranging carts and horses, 2007-07-30
For many years, as fossil plants emerged from the rocks, it was believed that these records reflected changes in climate. Plants, it was assumed, had to adapt to variations in weather and other conditions. According to Beerling, plant life was instead the major prompter of climate change. The balance of atmospheric gases was determined by the micro-organisms floating in the seas. The ability to absorb carbon dioxide, coupled with the use of sunlight to convert that into nutrients gives plants the power to shift gas quantities. During the early days, plants exhaled oxygen. It was poison to most organisms, but those capable of using it began the drive leading to today's life. In this useful survey of all the forces forming today's world, Beerling traces how plants "changed Earth's history". Following his thesis requires the reader's close attention, since the organisation of the material is necessarily loose - not fixed chronology nor subject. The many topics to cover cannot be neatly niched.
To the author, the biggest mystery lies in the long delay between plants colonising the land and the formation of the first leaves. Leaf structure reflects how the plant is using energy. That, in turn, becomes a signal of how the atmosphere is composed at any given time. This knowledge was assembled over many years through the work of many researchers. Beerling traces the building of data resources and how the information was interpreted. Images of leaves and stems, analysis of the rock chemistry, field observations and laboratory experiments all contributed to the picture of plant evolution. Numerous surprises emerged, sometimes leading scholars to doubt the data and even their methodology. Looking at the life of plants down the ages is, as he puts it, looking "Through a glass darkly". Pervading his presentation is what the implications are for what is occurring in today's atmosphere - on which our life and those of our children, depends.
Beerling deems investigations into ancient atmospheres a form of "breathalyser", such as the police apply to suspected impaired drivers. In this case, however, it's not alcohol fumes that are measured, but carbon dioxide. Other gases are also sought, but they don't often leave sufficient clues. The information must be derived indirectly. Again, it's the plant's leaves that are used as the pointers to how ancient atmospheres fluctuated. Underlying the variations is the mighty force of plate tectonics. The shifting of land masses and changes in surface configuration leads plants to shift their survival strategies. Acting far more rapidly than creeping continents, the ability of plants to accelerate or impair rock weathering shifts the presence of gas quantities. Carbon dioxide quantities have varied markedly, leading to most of the world's history being warm times. Only recently - in geologic terms - has the planet experienced a cool era, which led to the "ice age" that scoured the Northern Hemisphere with massive glaciers.
As with so much in science, the revelation that plants drive climate instead of passively responding to it has produced at least as many questions as answers. There are anomalous circumstances that must be unravelled. The knowledge gained has led to the formation of "Earth system analysis" techniques using various forms of computer modelling. Many details, however, remain to be worked out. Atmostpheric studies are particularly impaired by lack of knowledge of cloud formation and distribution. Carbon itself, both as a greenhouse gas and as a component of plant growth, remains enigmatic. Beerling traces the selectivity of plants in choosing which carbon isotope will be utilised. That choice has impact on which plants will become dominant in a given area, which also has implications for the animal life living from them. There are no simple nor ready answers to what plants have meant in tracing life's development. Yet, as he emphasises frequently, these are questions that must be addressed further, and that, soon. Understanding our atmosphere is essential to our future. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £8.00
Author:
Brian Capon
By Timber Press
Amazing book, 2008-07-18
I am still amazed with how well written and pleasurable to read this book is. Botany can be quite complicated at times, and I will not say that this book hasn't had at least one or two topics that didn't interest me at first (such as genetics), but once you start reading it you really feel hungry to read more.
It is written in a way that almost feels like reading a novel. I am going to read it again as I found that writing notes were distracting me away from the pleasure of reading the book itself. It also makes me wonder why when I was at schoool they didn't teach us all those interesting things the book so easily and magnificently tours us about. Wow, I have learnt so much!
In a nutshell, it feels like you are a reading a BBC cum National Geographic documentary book. Nevertheless the only downside of the book is the diagramation and the coordination of space between pictures and text, not the content's fault and should definitely not decrease even a 0,0001 star from its stellar 5 star rating.
List Price: £35.00
Our Price: £22.78
Author:
Richard Mabey
By Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd
Root and Branch, 2008-10-12
I recall hearing Richard Mabey discussing this book on a radio show, before it was published and thinking its premise: collecting contibutors' personal experiences of British plant life, seemed rather uninspired. Surely this kind of thing has been done to death? Nature magazine columns have been filled for years with people writing accounts of things they have seen in the British countryside.
When it was published, I was further put off by the high price of the book.
I was completely wrong on both counts, the price, when the size, scope and quality of the book are considered, seems more than reasonable. As to the premise of the work, Richard Mabey, a genius writer in my opinion, pulls all the various accounts from amateur contributors together into a cohesive and coherent whole, that manages to maintain the same well mannered and good humoured tone throughout its long length.
It is possible to read the book piecemeal, picking out species that interest you specially , but I feel reading it from cover to cover best allows the reader to appreciate what the author has achieved.
This is not an identification guide, although the photographs are of top quality, and the amount of space devoted to each species varies wildly, but the "Flora" succeeds in its aim to be a folk history rather than purely a Natural History work.
Beware of books that may seem to continue this work, e.g."Fauna Britannica", which do not, in fact, have much in common with this fine volume.
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