Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History by Bill Laws

Rather, each essay is a much broader consideration of the role of the plant in human history and development, and the cultural associations of people with the plant. Although the book’s subject matter is undeniably biological, no chapter is a treatise on the biology of the plant named. The first paragraph of each contribution is often a very summarised version of the complete chapter. Not all of those quotes are ‘serious’ Barnes is well-known for his humour, as exemplified by use of lyrics from ‘ Ring of Fire’ (notably sung by Johnny Cash) for the chapter on chillies. Brazil nut tree, papyrus, and bodhi tree), to 4.5 pages (wheat, cherry, garlic, grape, opium poppy, pine), 5 pages ( Cinnamomum, tobacco, tea, and olive), up to a maximum of 5.5 pages (for lily, grass, and rose).Įach chapter begins with a quote – drawn from a wide range of sources that include: The Lord’s Prayer ‘ Charley’s Aunt‘ Wilfred Owen Buddha John Keats John Paul Getty Groucho Marx and William Shakespeare (with 8 entries). Although, on average, chapters are four pages long, they vary in length from 3 pages (e.g. All chapters are a mix of text and usually one full-page colour illustration. From ‘Strangler fig’ to ‘Dipterocarp’, each one is a mini-essay on its named plant. The meatiest part of Barnes’ botanical book is the 100 chapters that occupy approx. This is an appraisal of The History of the World in 100 Plants by Simon Barnes, a book which could easily be amended to be one of the best and most wide-ranging contributions to the plants-and-people genre I’ve read.

Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History by Bill Laws