The Private Life of Plants: Sir David Attenborough
May 11, 2008 21:30:10 GMT -10
Post by vraev on May 11, 2008 21:30:10 GMT -10
The Private life of plants | 1995
by Sir David Attenborough
Introduction:
This is a book that brings the private un-noticed life of plants into the spotlight. Media exposure to carnivorous plants and especially the nepenthes genus is often rare. A simple fact to support it is the existence of only a single major documentary series that shows snippets of this wonderful and varied genus. This book is an accompanying guide to that 1995 documentary series: THE PRIVATE LIFE OF PLANTS.
Structure:
THe book bears 6 chapters: Travelers, Feeding & growing, flowering, the social struggle, Living together & Surviving. This is a brief comprehensive look at the entire plant kingdom with attention to all the major groups of plants. The mention of carnivorous plants is present in two chapters: 2 & 6. In specific, nepenthes are mentioned only in chapter 2 with information focusing at just the principle of the genus: Catch prey through pitchers appropriately suited at various positions and in different manifestations. The chapters are structured in a way which makes the book interesting for a continuous read. It exposes the mobile nature of plants while displacing the notions of them being in-animate; Dvelves into growth habits, reproduction, the struggles they face to live together in as a community and the conditions that they need to withstand. Its a fantastic structure that makes the reader appreciate the true life of plants.
Value:
The book is a decently priced at 30$ for its contents of a few over 300 pages. The pictures are revealing and interesting. The book is interesting for a comprehensive look at the plant kingdom, but for a nepenthes only requirement, the information provided is intermediate at the most. Bear in mind its significant for a casual reader but maybe not sufficient to quench the needs of a nepenthes horticulturalist.
COnclusion:
For information on nepenthes, this book provides just a couple of pages. Its not suited for a hardcore nepenthes enthusiaist, but rather better for a casual reader. Yet, the book itself is an amazing asset to understand plants at a different level: A level which is not often noticed as "Plants live in a different time scale" (quote from the documentary film). I consider it an enlightening book. But, please remember that if you have already seen the documentary series, there are only a few extras and additional detail in the book, but nothing too significant. I personally recommend this book for a plant lover as it is very interesting and in my opinion, a must to understand the LIFE OF PLANTS.
Total value: 8/10
Value for a reader focusing on nepenthes only: 4/10
by Sir David Attenborough
Introduction:
This is a book that brings the private un-noticed life of plants into the spotlight. Media exposure to carnivorous plants and especially the nepenthes genus is often rare. A simple fact to support it is the existence of only a single major documentary series that shows snippets of this wonderful and varied genus. This book is an accompanying guide to that 1995 documentary series: THE PRIVATE LIFE OF PLANTS.
Structure:
THe book bears 6 chapters: Travelers, Feeding & growing, flowering, the social struggle, Living together & Surviving. This is a brief comprehensive look at the entire plant kingdom with attention to all the major groups of plants. The mention of carnivorous plants is present in two chapters: 2 & 6. In specific, nepenthes are mentioned only in chapter 2 with information focusing at just the principle of the genus: Catch prey through pitchers appropriately suited at various positions and in different manifestations. The chapters are structured in a way which makes the book interesting for a continuous read. It exposes the mobile nature of plants while displacing the notions of them being in-animate; Dvelves into growth habits, reproduction, the struggles they face to live together in as a community and the conditions that they need to withstand. Its a fantastic structure that makes the reader appreciate the true life of plants.
Value:
The book is a decently priced at 30$ for its contents of a few over 300 pages. The pictures are revealing and interesting. The book is interesting for a comprehensive look at the plant kingdom, but for a nepenthes only requirement, the information provided is intermediate at the most. Bear in mind its significant for a casual reader but maybe not sufficient to quench the needs of a nepenthes horticulturalist.
COnclusion:
For information on nepenthes, this book provides just a couple of pages. Its not suited for a hardcore nepenthes enthusiaist, but rather better for a casual reader. Yet, the book itself is an amazing asset to understand plants at a different level: A level which is not often noticed as "Plants live in a different time scale" (quote from the documentary film). I consider it an enlightening book. But, please remember that if you have already seen the documentary series, there are only a few extras and additional detail in the book, but nothing too significant. I personally recommend this book for a plant lover as it is very interesting and in my opinion, a must to understand the LIFE OF PLANTS.
Total value: 8/10
Value for a reader focusing on nepenthes only: 4/10
