Hanson - The triumph of seeds: how grains, nuts, kernels, pulses, & pips conquered the plant kingdom and shaped human history

[An] engaging book. What makes The Triumph of Seeds more than a routine pop botany book is the way Mr. Hanson teases out the resonances between the ways that plants and humans use seeds. [A] lively and intelligent book.

Richard Mabey, Wall Street Journal

The genius of Hansons fascinating, inspiring, and entertaining book stems from the fact that it is not about how all kinds of things grow from seeds; it is about the seeds themselves. Hanson takes one of the least-impressive-looking natural objects and reveals a life of elegance and wonder. Although he is a storyteller by nature, he also charms us with an infectious enthusiasm. The reader feels that Hanson cannot wait to tell us what comes next. Like all good writers, he understands narrativethat a book, at its best, is a story, and that this one is built by spinning stories within stories. They are fun, sometimes they are funny, and they are always fascinating and readable. [An] engaging book.

Mark Kurlansky, New York Times Book Review

With light, engaging prose Hanson shows how the little spheroids we tip out of a packet are in fact supremely elegant genetic time capsules. The Triumph of Seeds takes you past the casing into the extraordinary inner workings of objects without which our landscapes, dinner plates, and gardens would be unrecognizable. You will never be able to look at an orange pip or a sunflower seed in the same way again.

New Scientist

A rip-roaring read.

Robert Krulwich, National Geographics Curiously Krulwich blog

An intriguing look at the acorns that grow into oaks, the orchid beans that flavor vanilla extract, and other ordinary seeds that affect the world, often in extraordinary ways. [The Triumph of Seeds] is a mix of lively stories, adventure, natural history, botany, and ecology. Hansons book isnt a how-to, but it is a dont miss for naturalists, from amateurs to experts, or for anyone who enjoys growing plants from seeds.

HGTVGardens.com

Thor Hanson has taken the history and science of these little marvels and drawn out a fascinating account of seed culture. We should not forget the importance of seeds in the liquor cabinet, as well. From rye whiskey, to wheat vodka, to barley beer, it would be a lot harder to get drunk without our friends in the grain world.

Home Wet Bar blog

[Hansons] luck for finding then writing about the magic in something common continues with The Triumph of Seeds.

Seattle Times

Lest you get the impression that Hansons book is all academic grit and gruel, be advised that he has thoroughly leavened his narrative with odd facts and fascinating digressions.

Natural History

This is a charming book, inspired by Hansons forays into seed identification and dispersal with his young, seed-obsessed son. Hansons twist of looking at human interactions with plants in their embryonic stage is new. The Triumph of Seeds will engender thoughtful consideration of our joint future.

Nature

A delight. Composed in charming and lively prose, the book introduces readers to a variety of quirky figuresbiologists, farmers, archaeologists, and everyday gardenerswho have something profound to say about a seemingly mundane topic: those little kernels that, against tremendous odds, have managed to take root all around us. The Triumph of Seeds is a remarkable, gentle, and refreshing piece of work that draws readers further into the wide arms of the world and makes them grateful for it.

BookPage

Conservation biologist Hansons new book showcases an even more approachable style than his 2011 Feathers. Using a personalized viewpoint derived from his backyard lab and dissertation research in Costa Rica with the almendro tree, as well as visits with specialists worldwide, he describes how seeds nourish, unite, endure, defend, and travel.

Library Journal

Fast and fascinating prose. Hanson, who has also chronicled feathers and gorillas, is a conservation biologist and Guggenheim fellow, and an ace dot-connector: he can draw a line between all the grain panics and crises and the tiny, miraculous structure of the seeds themselves, because he dives deeply into botany, economy and history. Also, hes just plain fun.

Denver Post

[Hanson is] jocular and entertaining in his dispensing of remarkable facts about these little vessels of life-to-be. From high-tech, high-security seed banks bracing for climate change to the story of the gum extracted from guar seeds that is used in everything from ice cream to fracking, this upbeat and mind-expanding celebration of the might of seeds is popular science writing at its finest.

Booklist, starred review

Hansons writing is lively, inquisitive, and knowledgeable. He draws on his own knowledge and that of a wide field of experts, writing a clear, comprehensible book that covers a wide range of topics.

Fangirl Nation

A delightful account of the origins, physiologies, and human uses of a vast variety of objects that plants employ to make more plants. A fine addition to the single-issue science genre.

Kirkus Reviews

Hanson writes in that breezy, enthused, confident way of good American science writers, scattering stories and analogies like dandelion seed-puffs. [