Product Description

What do we know about plants, really? Through a rich array of examples, many illustrated in the author's elegant and distinctive style, this book offers a new look at botany. This scholarly yet fun book examines the qualities that make plants unique, so different from animals. Experienced in both the academic and in-the-field sides of science, the opinionated Hall delightfully makes the case that plants differ so profoundly from animals that questions are raised about the meaning of individuality and the nature of life and death.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #438694 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-26
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.73 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 334 pages

From Booklist
A specialist in tropical botany, Halle sets forth a provocative discourse: Why do we revere the animal kingdom, yet act indifferently, or worse, wreak destruction on the plant world? Biologists direct their gaze upon animals, Halle posits, neglecting to delve into the infinite mysteries begging to be explored in the realm of flora. Densely scientific at times, Halle's writing mode is also convincingly fervent as he compares animal and plant forms. Engaging readers by suggesting that plants are biologically superior, Halle augments his point of view with strongly felt words quoted from poets and naturalists, novelists and scientists. Looking at notions of mobility, immortality, structural differences and disconcerting similarities, Halle uses a trove of line drawings to help expand upon terms and interpret concepts. These delightfully fresh illustrations serve to further open readers' minds and hearts to original, witty, wondrous ways we might begin to ponder plant life. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
This treatise on plants does provide many opportunities to explore the unique nature of plants. Roy L. Taylor, Pacific Horticulture, Summer 2003 (Pacific Horticulture )

You may not always agree with the author, but it is a fascinating book. John Van de Water, Newark Star-Ledger, February 2, 2003 (Newark Star-Ledger )

About the Author
Francis Halle is a professor of botany at the University of Montpellier, France. A previous book, Tropical Trees and Forests: An Architectural Analysis (1978), coauthored with Roelof Oldeman and Barry Tomlinson, is one of the most frequently consulted in tropical botany. Professor Halle is a pioneer in exploring life in the treetops of tropical forests, using a blimp-borne inflatable raft that rests on the tops of the trees of the canopy.