Remarkable Plants That Shape Our World - Hardcover

Bynum, Helen; Bynum, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 022620474X ISBN 13: 9780226204741

Verlag: UNIV OF CHICAGO PR, 2014

Über diesen Titel

Críticas:

"Remarkable Plants That Shape Our World is a quietly lavish book that gathers together the history of human use of a wide array of plants world-wide. The book is divided into sections, treating plants used as major food crops, spices, drugs, building materials, cash crops, ornamentals, sacred plants and, in a fun final flourish, curiosities. . . . A candy box for the curious."--A Best Nature Book of 2014 "Wall Street Journal "

"Remarkable Plants is readable and engaging. There is much discussion of species beyond 'the usual suspects' which appear in books on plants aimed at the general reader. A fantastic range of visual material."--Noel Kingsbury, author of Gardening with Perennials and Hybrid

"A gloriously illustrated celebration of the history, utility, diversity, and sheer wonder of the botanical world that powers our planet."--Washington Independent Review of Books

This overview of the botanical world takes the usefulness of plants to humans as its starting point. Key plants--10 or so in each category--are divided into medicines, materials, foods and flavours, with brief and elegant essays devoted to topics such as olives, asparagus, hops, aloe, flax, bamboo and wheat.--Telegraph (UK)

"This very handsome book provides interesting, particularly historical, information about plants of use and interest to a wide readership.--Choice

"It's readable, interestingand full of colorful facts--botanical, medical, historical, culinary--that keep the reader turning the pages. The writing is in a loose, scholarly style that feels open and accessible to a general readership. This is the kind of book you want to read and then give to your friends and family to read."--Huntia

"This beautifully produced volume reminds me of a Ken Burns video production. . . . Most of the images in this book are black and white or sepia and accompanied by engaging, authoritative yet accessible knowledge. The images are a gallery of exquisite botanical illustrations."--Economic Botany

Reseña del editor:

Imagine a typical morning--munching on a bowl of cereal, sipping coffee, dressing for the day, riding to work. Every moment of this common routine draws on the power of plants, and the centuries of development that brought wheat, coffee beans, cotton, and rubber--among many others--into our daily lives.
Remarkable Plants celebrates the wonder and utility of the green kingdom, taking a detailed look at how plants have shaped our world. It focuses on eighty key species and richly explores their history, highlighting their importance and bringing to light surprising stories. Organized thematically into eight sections, the book starts with Transformers” (including rice, beans, olives) and moves through sections such as Heal and Harm” (poppy, aloe, strychnos) and Revered and Adored” (lotus, frankincense, rose). Each species is introduced with its common and scientific names and followed by an exploration of its cultural, historical, botanical, and symbolic associations. Hundreds of botanical illustrations show full plants as well as highlight distinctive leaves, blooms, and fruits.
Rooted in one of the world’s most important and renowned temples of greenery, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Remarkable Plants is a symbiotic balance of science and art that will open readers’ eyes to the deep influence of the natural world on our modern one.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: UNIV OF CHICAGO PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2014
• ISBN 10: 022620474X
• ISBN 13: 9780226204741
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Anzahl der Seiten: 239