Me tardé casi dos meses en terminarlo porque cada tantas páginas me daban ganas de buscar más sobre un tema y pasaba varios días obsesionada con eso. Un libro que te enseña mucho pero en especial te deja con muchas más preguntas y ganas de investigar.

I enjoyed this but it felt like a very light skim into seeds and overloaded with personal experiences that weren't very interesting or redeeming.

I read this immediately after finishing a natural history of flowers. In my review of the flowers book, I complained that the author wandered far afield of his topic (no pun intended) and that it struck me as poorly organized. This book also wanders far afield of its topic, but is well-organized and (to my mind) better written altogether. Hanson brings mild humor and personal anecdotes along with his science. It was a wonderful book.
[Audiobook note: Mark Vietor is great, as always.]

I love gardening. I love choosing seeds from a catalogue and waiting for them to arrive at my door. But, like Thor, I went along my life not really understanding how seeds worked-- only that if I nurtured them in a certain way, they would (hopefully) grow. Thor tries to unravel the mystery, interviewing a good group of scientists to see what their insights are. The general consensus? There are a lot of different ways that seeds can germinate, and we're still trying to figure out the exact details.

What we do know, though, is that seeds have an integral role in all our lives, and without them, we couldn't survive.
I appreciate how the text's not bogged down with scientific jargon or inaccessible language. This is very much written for the average person who wants some insight into the world of seeds without being overwhelmed. And, if you are familiar with the more intricate side of things, you'll still be entertained by Thor's stories and interviews. I especially appreciate how he brings many women scientists and researchers into the discussion.

I had to add this book to a little shelf of favorites that all began with Salt, and carried on to Cod, Potato, Milk, Oyster, and the like. What a fascinating way to trace a particular course through history. I listened to the Audible version, walking the trails near Denali National Park in the summer of 2019.