Reviews

The Seed Detective: Uncovering the Secret Histories of Remarkable Vegetables by Adam Alexander

suebrownreads's review against another edition

4.0

This covers the history of many vegetables in depth. Very interesting, but you would really have to be into seeds/gardening and the history of seeds to appreciate it.

theketchupmess's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.0

mstott's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting, though not as good as Forgotten Fruits by Christopher Stocks, which is a similar topic.

vikingtantan's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.5

I really liked learning about the histories of different vegetables. Some stories were really interesting and even amusing. For a non-fiction book, this was a fast read, but more importantly (for me) not dry or tough to slog through. Reading this book inspired thoughts of starting up a garden to experience some of these wonderful foods and to help with the continuation of genetic diversity of vegetables/plants.

autumn_hare's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

fiberelf91's review against another edition

hopeful informative

4.0

blazingstar's review against another edition

informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

zoe_'s review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective

3.0

I‘ve seen some other people criticise this book for being too dry and textbook-y, to which I say that I wish it was. Or rather, I wish that this book was either more like an in-depth textbook or like a personal account with many anecdotes that also includes factual information. As it stands, this book was a bit too „superficial“ for my taste. However, I do think that there is a lot of merit in this book and it was quite inspirational and has contributed greatly to my ever-increasing desire to start cultivating a garden properly (and with some heirloom varieties). The only „objective“ criticism I have is that I believe Alexander thinks too highly of Linneaus and classification (which is generally a much more complex issue than he makes it seem). And in the grand scheme of things, that is a minor critique at best, especially because it is not actually relevant to the book.

I do believe that wvery single vegetable mentioned in this book would deserve a book all on its own detailing it’s origin, history, domestication, travels, and the many offspring/cousins associated with it. And I chose the believe that Alexander would agree with me in this.

jelinek's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.0

lesliewatwar's review against another edition

5.0

If you have ever put a seed in the ground or eaten you have probably asked at some point "Who was the first person to discover this could be eaten without killing them? What made this popular?" Adam Alexander might not have answered those specific questions, but he came real close.
Heirloom gardening has become more and more popular with a focus on perserving our connection to the food we eat. Through Alexander's travels, he has given us a wonderful book that helps us make that connection more clear.
I was overjoyed to read about the vegetables I grow every year so that I can tell my granddaughter more abuut them and it also educated me more on sources to get varieties of seeds that are considered heritage and heirloom. Sidenote- I never knew there was a heritage seed. I had always heard of heirloom.
Being and avid garnder I have bookmarked The Seed Detective with all kinds of marks.
It reads easy with Alexander including stories of his travels in with the history. The book is divided into two parts: Visitors from the East and Visitors from the West..
A recommend for the curous! I am now going to search for more books on the topic of our food history!