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| Second Nature: A Gardener's Education | 
 enlarge | List Price: $15.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 24 reviews)
Sales Rank: 7000
Category: Book
Author: Michael Pollan
Publisher: Grove Press
Studio: Grove Press
Manufacturer: Grove Press
Label: Grove Press
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.7
ISBN: 0802140114
Dewey Decimal Number: 635
EAN: 9780802140111
ASIN: 0802140114
Publication Date: August 12, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 For the virtual gardener June 27, 2006
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
I picked up this book when I didn't have my own dirt to get my hands into, and I was hoping to garden vicariously through Pollan's essays.
There are a lot of lessons to be found. For instance, the chapter on roses explains how human intervention and selective breeding brought about a huge difference between the technicolor tear-dropped buds we see for sale at the grocery store and the rounder and simpler flowers that Shakespeare and his contemporaries wrote about.
Throughout the book Pollan makes the case for uniting culture and nature in the garden rather than pitting them against each other as Thoreau (the naturist) did in his writings or suburban landscaping (very culture-centered) implies today. It is an interesting argument worth considering, but by the fourth part when I found it repeated for the umpteenth time without anything new to add I quit reading the book.
 grass is overrated. December 7, 2005
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
This was probably the first book I read that dealt with relations to nature on a practical and philosophical level. I'm not sure if Pollan counts as a philosopher, but the views he presents are very accessible and bring a lot into question.
I've heard his writing described as piecey, which surprised me. I will agree that the seperation of the chapters into seasons didn't really seem to fit, but ignoring the headers fixed that problem. Overall it was an enjoyable and informative read. There's a very strong sense of humor that runs through the whole book and many good points are made.
Anyone interested in gardening would love this book, and I think that anyone interested in environmental issues or ethics would too. It's a good place to start off if you've ever wondered about societal attitudes to the land but wavered on learning more by the writing style of people like Emerson or Singer.
I was so pleased reading this book that I bought Pollan's A Botany of Desire, as well, and though the check-out girl gave me a funny look because of the title, it was well worth it.
What to Buy a Gardener during the Winter December 5, 2005
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. I grew up in a family which gardens, and have my own garden today. I also grew up in an agrarian family, and went on to get a master's in cultural anthropology - all that to say, I suppose I am well-suited to enjoy Pollan's perspectives.
I don't agree with everything he wrote, but I do agree with most of it. And the book is very well-written, very entertaining, and it really makes the reader pause to consider choices made in their own life.
So much of the information about gardening is "how-to", and this book delves into the philosophy, the motivations, the rationales, and the environmental impacts of gardening .... It's written on a higher level, and as worthwhile for readers as the "how to" books, too.
I highly recommned this book - for those who enjoy gardening, and also for those who are concerned about the environment. Pollan will be a good read for both.
I absolutely disagree with the previous reviewer who disparaged Pollan's take on the environmental movement as a whole. Perhaps that person is so deeply enmeshed in environmental causes that he can't see the big picture- but for me, the big picture looks much more as Pollan describes it, than not.
Second Nature: A Gardener's Education September 8, 2005
4 out of 9 found this review helpful
One of my favorite all-time books. Excellent thinking, wise perspective, superb writing
In the garden? January 15, 2005
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I read this book after stumbling across, and very much enjoying, the Botany of Desire by the same author. Pollan's perspective on nature, culture, and the garden's place in both is fresh and extremely well written. This book is both challenging and fun; anyone with even the slightest interest in the sciences will like reading and thinking about the ideas he gives.
Pollan's ability to describe people and gardens is worthy of a weekly newspaper column next to Dave Barry. I keep his books on my shelves for re-reading on a leisurely day.
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