The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obession

When I first picked up the book given to me by my mentor, I decided to just read the first two pages being assured I would be bored very quickly. I found myself picking up the book every spare moment I had for the next 4 days. The book is an example of great story telling of true events. It tells of how plants moved from continent to continent and how this trade helped to shape our history. It recounts the stories of John Bartram (a founder of the American Philosophical Society), Peter Collinson, Carl Linnaeus, Daniel Solander, Joseph Banks, and how their lives involved the lives of many others such as Benjamin Franklin, Catherine the Great of Russia, Captain Cook etc... If ever you longed for stories of plant hunting in unknown places and crossing great oceans to discover new lands here is a book to help satisfy your want. As I read the book I felt envious of the adventure the protagonists lived and thankful to them for the great variety of plants we now have available to us because of their work. I think this is an entertaining essential read to anyone who has ever had an interest in growing plants simply for its pleasure. You must read this!

It was fascinating to learn how many plants that I think of as core to the British garden were initially introduced from North America. This is a great book for its perspective on the importance of the plant trade and exploration in the 18th century, and the central role that botany placed in the history and scientific revolution of this era. The book sparked an interest for me in learning more about the Royal Society, England's Academy of Sciences, as well as reading another book on my shelf (Blue Latitudes, Tony Horwitz's book about the journeys of Captain Cook). In addition to Cook's botanic journeys, we learn that Captain Bligh's voyage on the Bounty (as in "mutiny on the Bounty) was a botanic mission to transport Breadfruit trees from the East Indies to the West Indies. I appreciated the scandal with which Linnaeus's initial "sexual" classification system must have been met, as well as the pure politics of naming plants after famous people. I tried to think about whether I would have loved this as much if I weren't a gardener - I think the history would be interesting to anyone. The book may be most appealing to those who are interested in the plants that are mentioned, or in the global plant trade and how it contributed to exploration of the globe.

If you like history and gardening you should enjoy this book. She makes Captain Bligh look like the great man he was. Banks, Solander, Bartram...and lots more are here. Reading the book will give you the urge to try new plants and go look at the places where they were collected or first grown. Andrea Wulf is a skillful writer. Her work is a nice change from some of the strange stuff I see in books these days.

The author does a marvelous job of weaving together bits of history and biography into an eminently readable tapestry of stories. I thought that I knew a lot about the plant explorers of this era, but the author showed me so much more than I expected, and did such a wonderful job of connecting up the disparate bits and pieces. A thoroughly enjoyable read, especially nice for those with a love of botany, horticulture, and history. Highly recommended.

If you are a gardener who has a passion for plants in the landscape, you must add this book to your library! Andrea Wolf shares a wonderfully crafted story of an historic plant exchange and plant discoveries that have impacted gardeners around the world. Even though it is nonfiction, it reads like a novel. Furthermore,even the paperback includes beautiful pictures and an amazing reference chart. I love sharing my books with friends and fellow gardeners, but this one is not leaving the house!