A Brief History of Gardening

Rating:
Summary: Who knew gardening history could be so fun?
Review: I received this books as a gift and was hooked from the start. The author's got a way with words, and he makes all his subjects interesting, some of them fascinating, and many of them downright funny.

Contrary to another reviewer's stormy opinion, I liked the short, timeline-centered format. The title says "brief," not "totally in depth." But Fairbairn doesn't skimp on details, either -- he just doesn't try to cover all of agricultural history. This book has led me to think and read more about some of the topics he's exposed me to, which is really what a good book should do.

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: For anyone who has ever enjoyed working the earth
Review: Spanning six continents and thousands of years of human history, Neil Fairbairn's A Brief History Of Gardening provides the reader with a superbly researched, written and presented history of the human practice of growing plants for food and pleasure. Enhanced with 350 illustrations, the text also features a time line to guide the reader through eras of agricultural trends and places events and movements within an easily identifiable context of human history. The short essays address a wide spectrum of subjects from what the Japanese noel "Tale of Genji" tells us about Japanese flower fetishes, to how herbalist healers were targeted in the Salem witch trials, to what the "Kama Sutra" has to say about gardening. A Brief History Of Gardening is highly recommended for anyone who has ever enjoyed the feel of working the earth to bring forth a crop, or labored in a grove or vineyard for the season's harvest, or simply shopped in nursery for seeds, plants or bulbs for their household garden.

Rating:
Summary: It's in chronological order...
Review: The only thing that kept me from giving this book a no star is the fact that it is impossible to do so and, indeed, it's at least in chronological order. The book is a mish-mash of facts that read like an extended sidebar to missing content that would "connect the dots" for the readers. Lots of pictures, but none of them with captions or any meaningful symbolisim to let you know what "spurt" of histroy it's connected to. Check this book out carefully in your local bookstore or library before sending away for it.