Tag: Jonathan Drori

Review – Around the World in 80 Trees

Posted November 29, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Around the World in 80 Trees

Around the World in 80 Trees

by Jonathan Drori, Lucille Clerc

Genres: History, Non-fiction, Science
Pages: 240
Rating: five-stars
Synopsis:

In Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori uses plant science to illuminate how trees play a role in every part of human life, from the romantic to the regrettable. From the trees of Britain, to India's sacred banyan tree, they offer us sanctuary and inspiration - not to mention the raw materials for everything from aspirin to maple syrup.

Stops on the trip include the lime trees of Berlin's Unter den Linden boulevard, which intoxicate amorous Germans and hungry bees alike, the swankiest streets in nineteenth-century London, which were paved with Australian eucalyptus wood, and the redwood forests of California, where the secret to the trees' soaring heights can be found in the properties of the tiniest drops of water.

Each of these strange and true tales -- populated by self-mummifying monks, tree-climbing goats and ever-so-slightly radioactive nuts -- is illustrated by Lucille Clerc, taking the reader on a journey that is as informative as it is beautiful. The book combines history, science and a wealth of quirky detail - there should be surprises for everyone.

Like Around the World in 80 Plants, this is beautifully illustrated by Lucille Clerc, in much the same style: sometimes the images show details of the trees, sometimes a more zoomed out look, and sometimes the pictures include images that illustrate the text directly to show how the trees are used or handled.

If anything, the text seemed livelier in this book than in the other — like, perhaps, the author is just a bit more enthusiastic about trees than general plants. I certainly flew through the book, and found a couple of new-to-me facts that I was eager to tell other people. (Like the stuff about avocado trees!)

If there’s a plant-lover in your life, it’d make a wonderful gift, and there’s also plenty of titbits to pique the interest of anyone who likes this sort of history-through-a-specific-type-of-object (like myself), or just enjoys learning about all kinds of things (also me).

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Around the World in 80 Plants

Posted November 24, 2023 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Around the World in 80 Plants

Around the World in 80 Plants

by Jonathan Drori, Lucille Clerc

Genres: History, Non-fiction, Science
Pages: 216
Rating: five-stars
Synopsis:

Jonathan Drori takes a trip across the globe, bringing to life the science of plants by revealing how their worlds are intricately entwined with our own history, culture and folklore. From the seemingly familiar tomato and dandelion to the eerie mandrake and Spanish "moss" of Louisiana, each of these stories is full of surprises. Some have a troubling past, while others have ignited human creativity or enabled whole civilizations to flourish. With a colorful cast of characters all brought to life by illustrator Lucille Clerc, this is a botanical journey of beauty and brilliance.

The first thing to know is that this book is beautifully illustrated by Lucille Clerc, full colour, at least one full-page image per plant. Sometimes these images show details of the plants, and sometimes they include aspects of the accompanying text explanation.

Jonathan Drori’s discussion of each plant is often brief, and the order is not necessarily in order of the origin of a given plant, but rather a place where they might be encountered now, along with the story of how they got there. The stories vary by plant, often including the human history of how we’ve used the plant, and what the plant has done for us.

I found it fascinating, and I’m definitely passing this on to the plant lover in my life; I think he’ll enjoy it even more.

Rating: 5/5

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