The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants
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Book Overview
The wide-ranging and delightful history of celebrated plant breeder Luther Burbank and the business of farm and garden in early twentieth- century America At no other time in history has there been more curiosity or concern about the food we eat-and genetically modified foods, in particular, have become both pervasive and suspect. A century ago, however, Luther Burbank's blight-resistant potatoes, white blackberries, and plumcots-a plum-apricot hybrid-were celebrated as triumphs in the best tradition of American ingenuity and perseverance. In his experimental grounds in Santa Rosa, California, Burbank bred and cross-bred edible and ornamental plants-for both home gardens and commercial farms-until they were bigger, hardier, more beautiful, and more productive than ever before. A fascinating portrait of an American original, The Garden of Invention is also a colorful and engrossing tale of the intersection of gardening, science and business in the years between the Civil War and the Great Depression.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0143116894
ISBN13:9780143116899
Release Date:February 2010
Publisher:Penguin Publishing Group
Length:368 Pages
Weight:0.75 lbs.
Dimensions:0.9" x 5.3" x 7.9"
Age Range:18 years and up
Grade Range:Postsecondary and higher
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
Great Biography of Luther Burbank
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 14 years ago
A must read for anyone interested in American history, natural history, or gardening. Well written and researched.
Garden of Invention - a must read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
Everyone who has read The Omnivore's Dilemma should read The Garden of Invention. This biography explains the start one hundred years of corporate food and factory farms.
Burbank
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
Fascinating book and well written. Covers the subject in depth and with lots of details.
Deserves a spot in any general lending library
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
GARDEN OF INVENTION: LUTHER BURBANK AND THE BUSINESS OF BREEDING PLANTS offers an excellent history of the plant breeder and farm and garden efforts in early 20th century America. A century ago Burbank was the most famous gardener on the planet. This survey of his contributions is not a biography nor an encyclopedia of his creations but a cultural and social survey of Burbank's influences on gardening trends and American culture, and deserves a spot in any general lending library.
Food for Thought
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
Frankenfood, corn-powered cars, seedless oranges, and cloned cows--if you wonder how we got there from here, read "The Garden of Invention," which shares the story of plant pioneer Luther Burbank, inventor of dozens of famous and infamous fruits, vegetables, and flowers, including the Satsuma plum and Black Giant cherry, rainbow corn and elephant garlic, Shasta daisy and American Evening primrose--not to mention spineless cacti. In his own time (Burbank developed more than 800 new varieties between 1873 and 1925), he was as famous as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, and hero to such diverse icons as Andrew Carnegie and Swami Paramahasa Yoganada. His legacy gave rise to "The Garden as Intellectual Property," as Smith titles her last chapter. This book is fun, fascinating, fast-reading food for thought.
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