The Triumph of Seeds: How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses, and Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History - Brossura

Hanson, Thor

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0465097405 ISBN 13: 9780465097401

Casa editrice: Basic Books, 2016

Riassunto

We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life: supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and pepper drove the Age of Discovery, coffee beans fueled the Enlightenment and cottonseed sparked the Industrial Revolution. Seeds are fundamental objects of beauty, evolutionary wonders, and simple fascinations. Yet, despite their importance, seeds are often seen as commonplace, their extraordinary natural and human histories overlooked. Thanks to this stunning new book, they can be overlooked no more. This is a book of knowledge, adventure, and wonder, spun by an award-winning writer with both the charm of a fireside story-teller and the hard-won expertise of a field biologist. A fascinating scientific adventure, it is essential reading for anyone who loves to see a plant grow.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

With light, engaging prose Hanson shows how the little spheroids we tip out of a packet are in fact supremely elegant genetic time capsules. The Triumph of Seeds takes you past the casing into the extraordinary inner workings of objects without which our landscapes, dinner plates, and gardens would be unrecognisable. You will never be able to look at an orange pip or a sunflower seed in the same way again. --New Scientist

[T]he genius of Hanson's fascinating, inspiring and entertaining book stems from the fact that it is not about how all kinds of things grow from seeds; it is about the seeds themselves. Hanson...takes one of the least-impressive-looking natural objects and reveals a life of elegance and wonder.... Although he is a storyteller by nature, he also charms us with an infectious enthusiasm. The reader feels that Hanson cannot wait to tell us what comes next.... Like all good writers, he understands narrative that a book, at its best, is a story, and that this one is built by spinning stories within stories. They are fun, sometimes they are funny, and they are always fascinating and readable.... [An] engaging book. --Mark Kurlansky, New York Times Book Review

This is the kind of accessible science writing that keeps readers engrossed, never realizing how much knowledge they're picking up along the way. Who knew that seeds could be so fascinating? Hanson's narrative voice and personal anecdotes make for easy and enjoyable reading and learning. --Judges citation, 2016 PNBA Book Award

Descrizione del libro:

"[T]he genius of Hanson's fascinating, inspiring, and entertaining book stems from the fact that it is not about how all kinds of things grow from seeds it is about the seeds themselves."-Mark Kurlansky, New York Times Book Review

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Basic Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0465097405
• ISBN 13: 9780465097401
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 320