Plants!

The Triumph of Seeds
Thor Hanson
215 pages
Copy: ARC
Read: late April (finished April 30)
Spoilers: there are seeds...and they sprout and they occasionally get eaten by animals

I read this book over the course of approximately two weeks, as I wrapped up my Masters' Thesis. I would snatch a few minutes of reading here and there (mostly at breakfast), but rarely got the chance to read large chunks all at once. I think it is a testament to the author's skill that I never became confused, never lost track of where I was, and never even contemplated putting the book down permanently. (I always find it much easier to abandon non-fiction during times of great stress than fiction. I also think this tendency contributes to my exaggerated enjoyment of essays. It's so much easier to take non-fiction in digestible pieces, rather than entire books, when the world weighs a little heavy.)

At any rate, I very much enjoyed this book. It is in the same school of science-writing as Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything (which I have read several times with great enthusiasm). However, I know this type of science-writing is not for everyone--Hanson is chatty, and relies on personal anecdotes, but his science is not always top-notch. That being said, he has done an excellent job of making botany approachable. Botany is a fascinating, albeit alien, world; it is a smart and rare author who can translate that foreignness into something tangible and understandable.

The book is divided into fourteen chapters; each one pays special attention to a different seed, or set of related seeds. Hanson chooses his seeds wisely and makes good use of each seed's unique characteristics. The downside of this organization is the sheer amount left out. I would love to have heard more about flowers; I don't think he spent nearly enough time on trees; I wish there had been some practical advice. However, for a short book, Hanson does an admirable job of summarizing the basics. Had he tried to include more information, I am sure the book would have become long, tedious, and utterly unmarketable.

Now, I will declare myself a gardener (a very, very, very amateurish one, however), which means I no doubt have a biased opinion of this book. I don't quite know what non-gardeners would think of it. I have the feeling that farmers, in particular, will find it rather light reading--if not utterly anathema to their way of life. Hanson is a dilettante (and I say that knowing full well that he received his PhD after conducting research on seeds). However, it is clear that writing is his primary concentration; science comes second; gardening (both productive and non-productive) comes a distant third. I don't say this to disparage Hanson. I say this as a way to caution you; handing this book to your botanist friend will not garner you brownie points. Handing it to your farmer friend will probably result in a fight.

So who would I recommend handing this to? Home gardeners--men and women who have little vegetable patches, and flowering window boxes, and back patios covered in well-tended green things. I don't think this book is going to convert anyone, necessarily; Hanson is preaching to a fairly well-established choir. The Triumph of Seeds would make an excellent Mothers' Day or Fathers' Day present; it'd make a good birthday present. Come wintertime, it will make an exceptional palliative for those gardeners slowly being driven insane by nasty weather. (Hand it to them along with several seed catalogs, and perhaps a new trowel, and I promise you will make a new friend.) Don't hand it to someone who hates the outdoors and refuses to garden; it will only gather dust.

Body Parts: "Breasts"

Book: Breasts

Author: Florence Williams
Pages: 283
Copy: advanced reading copy from Readers' Books (my copy is therefore different from the actual hardcover that was released in May)
Read: July 5-7

Spoilers: another non-fiction piece...

Prior to August 2009, I'd never given my breasts much thought.  As a young woman uncomfortable with the trappings of traditional femininity, breasts embarrassed me.  But when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, when my mom lost one of her breasts, I began to think about my own differently.  I'm still not entirely comfortable with my breasts, but I certainly don't hate them like I use to.

This is a round-about way of opening a review of this book, but I think it's important for me to admit that I read this book because I have a history with breast cancer.  I knew perhaps half of what Williams wrote about and the other half had more to do with society and evolution than with breast health.  I don't know how groundbreaking her book really is, no matter how groundbreaking she considers it.  For instance, much of her discussion of chemicals can be found in other places, particularly in any writing that looks at chemicals in the environment.  That being said, anyone unfamiliar with the topic of chemicals in the environment and the body will find this book an informative start.

In some ways, this book makes it appear that any woman living in the United States is going to get breast cancer.  Caught between the chemicals in our food and possessions and our medical habits, breast cancer has become more and more likely.  If you add genetic history to the mix, getting cancer seems inevitable.  I doubt that this was Williams' intention, but I certainly finished the book wondering when I was going to get cancer--not if.  Perhaps this is the greatest weakness of the book, that Williams never offers any sort of solution or way forward.

Overall, this book is fairly good.  It's informative and scientific without being overwhelming.  Williams is certainly channeling Mary Roach's style of non-fiction (personal anecdotes, involving her family and herself in experiments, occasional humorous asides, and so on), but Williams doesn't do it as effectively.  Perhaps her next book will be able to effortlessly capture the spirit of Mary Roach, but in this book Williams comes off as trying too hard.

I would suggest this book to anyone who is distantly connected to breast cancer--perhaps a friend of a friend or a distant cousin has been diagnosed and you want to learn more.  It's a good introduction to the topic and all the different ways that breast cancer can arise.  It's possible this would be a good book for someone who has gone through breast cancer, but I think anyone who has been through cancer knows much of this information already.  I worry that anyone who is closely connected to breast cancer would leave this book fearing for their lives--so be prepared for that.

--Benvolia

Update: September 17, 2012

The New York Times recently ran a review of Breasts.   Like most NYT book reviews, this one fawns a bit, but it certainly gives a better overview than my own.  The reviewer also makes some interesting points.  "I hope," the reviewer writes, "men will read this book — not because it will make them less inclined to drool over bizarre, artificially enhanced, porn-star cleavage. But because the dangers that Williams details are not exclusive to women. They threaten our entire species."  At any rate, if you want another point of view, here you go.