Scan barcode
megganjoy's review
4.75
I savored this book as a treat to read at the end of the day, slowly reading less and less to keep it going as long as possible. I finally decided to read the last few chapters last night because, in just a few hours, I am getting a tattoo of a seed, Acer saccharum - the sugar maple, in honor of my childhood home. The last few sentences of the book really drive home why this is such a special book, and reading the subtext made me even a bit happy-teary.
The author talks with us like friends at a dinner table, delivering all the complexity of plants raising young by ever so often dropping in bits of daily life with his young child, who we meet early on with his sweet pronunciation of "heeds." After all, seeds are just baby plants trying to make it in a big weird world, just like us.
I bet I will re-read this a few times.
The author talks with us like friends at a dinner table, delivering all the complexity of plants raising young by ever so often dropping in bits of daily life with his young child, who we meet early on with his sweet pronunciation of "heeds." After all, seeds are just baby plants trying to make it in a big weird world, just like us.
I bet I will re-read this a few times.
elee2013's review
4.0
3.5/5
Reading other reviews, people found this book very engaging and inspiring… and I did think it was well written. Perfect balance of science and layman’s language, with some framework of history and the author’s own personal life, both his home life and his own research. But I don’t know how much I’m walking away with personally — I equally feel like I wish I had learned MORE, and that I have no desire to go find out more. Dilemma, eh? The fun parts of this book were the conversation starters — the stealth bomber being modeled off a seed, capsaicin as a defense against fungus, cotton floating across the ocean twice, ricin as the most lethal poison.
Reading other reviews, people found this book very engaging and inspiring… and I did think it was well written. Perfect balance of science and layman’s language, with some framework of history and the author’s own personal life, both his home life and his own research. But I don’t know how much I’m walking away with personally — I equally feel like I wish I had learned MORE, and that I have no desire to go find out more. Dilemma, eh? The fun parts of this book were the conversation starters — the stealth bomber being modeled off a seed, capsaicin as a defense against fungus, cotton floating across the ocean twice, ricin as the most lethal poison.
frogl8dy's review
4.0
This was a great book. Seeds are so amazing and I love that he does a good job of portraying a sense of wonder and the curious nature of a scientist.
incandescentreads's review against another edition
3.0
Rating : 3 ⭐
This book had a lot of interesting information, but none of it felt really in depth. As a result, some of the arguments seemed more like theories and were not very convincing. The audiobook narrator did a good job.
This book had a lot of interesting information, but none of it felt really in depth. As a result, some of the arguments seemed more like theories and were not very convincing. The audiobook narrator did a good job.
mikecross's review
4.0
Very entertaining and very well researched, longed for more when book ended. I wish it would have been a little more scientific or had more scientific aspects of seeds.