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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.
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
4.5
I really enjoyed this. A very informative book on the topic with an engaging writing style.
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.
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.