In Praise of Plants H/B

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 Halle 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.

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. "The rainforest canopy is still a largely undiscovered layer of the planet. Francis Halle's pioneering treetop expeditions are carrying out vital research into what makes the world's rainforests tick" (Gil Gillespie, Frontiers, 1998).

This fascinating and important book has been most sensitively translated to bring it, at last, to the wider audience it deserves. The book is a modern classic that wonderfully combines plant science with opinions, by one of its leading practitioners. I know that it will inspire future generations to develop the close relationship to plants that is so apparent in Francis Halle. -- Sir Ghillean Prance National Tropical Botanical Garden 20020813 Scholarly yet fun book. Bookseller 20020705 [A] passionate appreciation of the uniqueness of plants ... Entertaining and informative. -- P. Barry Tomlinson Plant Talk 20021008 This fascinating, astonishing book ought to be required reading for all high school students. -- Ann Lovejoy Seattle Post-Intelligencer 20030116 A unique, informative and 'reader friendly' study of the human bias that can readily interfere with our scientific and emotional understanding of plants. Wisconsin Bookwatch 20021206 You may not always agree with the author, but it is a fascinating book. -- John Van de Water Newark Star-Ledger 20030202 I would not hesitate to recommend this book to colleagues as an interesting and certainly entertaining book. Aside from the humor, the poetry, and the eloquent quotes, there is a lot of fodder for thought here for any botanist. -- Catherine Kleier Plant Science Bulletin 20030326 One of the most thought-provoking books encountered in a long time. -- Ann Milovsoroff Pappus 20030523 Entertaining and thought--provoking...skillfully translated...abundantly illustrated...I would recommend this volume for anyone seeking a fresh perspective on plants and the unique way in which they differ from other organisms. -- Terry R. Webster Quarterly Review of Biology 20030613 Rather than controversial, I see the book as unconventional, providing a refreshing view of plants and their place in the biological world ... I would recommend this volume for anyone seeking a fresh perspective on plants and the unique way in which they differ from other organisms. -- Terry Webster New Biological Books 20030611 Readers will have their understanding of plants fundamentally altered, and their appreciation immeasurably enhanced. Taxon 20021115 This treatise on plants does provide many opportunities to explore the unique nature of plants. -- Roy L. Taylor Pacific Horticulture 20030709 Relates decisively how plants must be perceived as Earth's life-support system. -- P. Barry Tomlinson Plant Talk 20040521 This book is laced with humor and amply illustrated in the author's lively style...you might see the world through fresh eyes. -- Jimmy Grogan Tropinet 20040916 In Praise of Plants is a detailed discussion of the nature of the plant kingdom and does indeed praise plants for their unique and necessary place on earth. American Rhododendron Society Journal 20041102