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The Plant Hunters: Two Hundred Years of adventure and Discovery Around the World
 
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The Plant Hunters: Two Hundred Years of adventure and Discovery Around the World (Hardcover)

by Toby Musgrave (Author), Chris Gardner (Author), Will Musgrave (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Ward Lock; 1st edition (5 Nov 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0706377532
  • ISBN-13: 978-0706377538
  • Product Dimensions: 25.4 x 20.3 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 183,802 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The years before and during the age of the British Empire were periods of vast scientific and technological advancement. The travels to all parts of the world brought back many tales of native peoples, their lifestyles, and goods and riches beyond imagination. Britain became the world's greatest trader of commodities such as gold, spices and food. Part of the process of recording the new found cultures, continents and indigenous plant species became the responsibility of privately and royally funded societies such as the Horticulture Society and Kew Gardens. Through these organisations, expeditions to all corners of the globe were organised to bring back plants, seeds and exotic foods not only for research but also for cultivation and trading purposes.

The Plant Hunters offers an extraordinary look into the lives of the men who travelled the world in search of plants and seeds to document and send back to Britain. From the early travels of Sir Joseph Banks, who sailed with Captain Cook and the Endeavour in 1768, to the more recent adventures of Frank Kingdon- Ward in the early 1900s, this book tells the tales of these brave and dedicated botanists who spent years in often unfavourable conditions in order to gather specimens. The plants that they categorised, lovingly drew and documented, were at their time all new and very different from those found in Europe. Many of these have now become garden standards such as lilies, orchids, rhododendrons and many varieties of fir and conifers.

The stories of these men's lives follow the advancement of British culture from the early settling of Australia to the opening of trade with and the colonisation of China and the Far East. This fascinating, well-documented and well-written book will be of interest to anyone with an interest in gardening, botany, or history.



Product Description

This is the story of the men who discovered and brought back a wealth of exotic new plants. Journeying through remote and beautiful lands, often in great peril, they collected the plants that shaped western garden design for 200 years. The stories are illustrated with portraits, photographs and maps. The book traces the journeys of 10 of the most significant plant hunters, from the 18th century to the last of the professionals, Frank Kingdon-Ward. It travels with Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks to South America, New Zealand and Australia. It treks over 9000 miles across North America with David Douglas, who laid claim to 200 species. It also explores California, South America and South East Asia with the Lobb brothers, and climbs into the Himalaya with Joseph Hooker in search of spectacular rhododendrons. It follows Robert Fortune, as he smuggles tea plants out of China, the foundation of a vast cash crop vital to the development of the Empire. These and other stories vividly bring to life the pioneering work of plant hunters.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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 (3)
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Interesting subject, very poorly written, 18 Sep 2001
By A Customer
I am confused by the other reviews of this book which make me wonder if I have been reading a different book to everyone else. It is appallingly badly written. The style is childlike and repetitive and makes one feel one is reading a series of sixth formers general studies essays. The authors are trying to cover too much ground in such a book and I think this is why the style suffers. Could have done better.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Garden Plants, Adventure, Discovery and Forgotten Heroes, 17 Nov 1998
By A Customer
The plant hunters really are forgotten heroes. This book tells the amazing story of 10 remarkable and determnined (some would say downright eccentric) men who, over the past two centuries, travelled to unexplored parts of the globe in order to bring back exotic new plants for our gardens. Today we take these plants for granted, but you won't look at your garden the same way again once you have read this book. To know the stories behind some of our favourite plants is really enlightening. And as for the adventures experienced by these men - it really is Boy's Own stuff. They suffered hardships, injury and even death in pursuit of their horticultural holy grails. What I particularly appreciated, apart from the wonderful colour illustrations and maps, were the explanations of how the new plant helped forge garden fashions. This brought history to life and put past garden fashions into context.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars ....a thoroughly enjoyable book, 7 Aug 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The Plant Hunters: Two Hundred Years of Discovery and Adventure Around the World (Paperback)
The subject matter may seem of special interest only to horticultural historians, but nothing can be farther from the truth. The stories contained within this volume are presenting in an exciting and thoroughly delightful manner. The authors have skilfully taken excerpts from travel journals, letters, and other sources and woven them into a context that provides those interested in garden plants with a taste of how (and why) they arrived in cultivation. I highly recommend the book as an enjoyable read. My only concern may be that my knowledge of all the species was somewhat lacking so I was not always aware of what the plants are and if they are significant today. None-the-less, the book provides a series of vignettes of some of the major plant hunters and their amazing escapades.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The Plant Hunters
I had regretted not buying a copy of this book for myself when it was first published, so was delighted to find it on Amazon: just the right amount of biographical information... Read more
Published 10 days ago by Mrs. Christine Middleton

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