Flowers: How They Changed the World

William C. Burger's "Flowers: How They Changed the World" is certainly a labor of love. His clear and enthusiastic prose transported me back to a course in botany I had at the University of Arizona around 1970. As a zoologist I had had little contact with botany, but I had always been interested in the subject. The course I took in botany opened up this fascinating world and I now remember the hours I spent in class and in hunting flowering plants in the desert as golden. This book brought all that delight back. From the structure of flowers, through their function, defences, evolutionary history and history related to humans and other organisms, Burger has opened the door to an enchanted world. Yet it is the world just outside, in vacant lots, woods, meadows, tropical forests, agricultural fields, yards, roadsides, deserts and swamps- in fact almost anywhere. A naturalist can find profound interest in the weeds, wild flowers and cultivated plants described here, and thus is almost never bored. I thus recommend this volume without reservation. It will open the reader's eyes to an absolutely engrossing subject and may give them a life-long passion.

Flowers are one of the most attractive aspects of the outdoors; but they didn't evolve just for humans to appreciate. Botanist and science writer William Burger examines the role of flowers in the natural world, from how their bright colors and shapes attract and induce animals to help with pollination to how they serve as an energy resource. Chapters survey flowers, their pollinators, and how flowers have enabled ecosystems to survive in his lively blend of botanical research and wide-ranging natural history insights. A top pick for college-level students and leisure readers who like science and gardening books. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch