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Light Eaters : How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger (2024, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherHarperCollins
ISBN-100063073854
ISBN-139780063073852
eBay Product ID (ePID)21062381121
Product Key Features
Book TitleLight Eaters : How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth
Number of Pages304 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2024
TopicLife Sciences / Botany, Philosophy & Social Aspects, Cognitive Psychology & Cognition, History, Essays
GenreScience, Psychology
AuthorZoë Schlanger
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height0.9 in
Item Weight0.7 Oz
Item Length9 in
Item Width6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2023-037601
TitleLeadingThe
Reviews"I'll never look at plants--or the natural world--in the same way again, after reading Zoë Schlanger's stunning book. Instead of trying to ram the square peg of botanical life into the round holes of human biology and metaphors, Schlanger instead considers plants on their own terms, as they actually are. The result is mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful." -- Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of An Immense World and I Contain Multitudes "A brilliant must-read about the marvels of the green world. This book shook and changed me, revealing plant intelligence as more strange and wondrous than I could imagine. Zoë Schlanger's explorations brim with curiosity and every page brings new revelation and insight." -- David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken, The Songs of Trees, and The Forest Unseen, "I'll never look at plants--or the natural world--in the same way again, after reading Zoë Schlanger's stunning book. Instead of trying to ram the square peg of botanical life into the round holes of human biology and metaphors, Schlanger instead considers plants on their own terms, as they actually are. The result is mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful." - Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of An Immense World and I Contain Multitudes "The Light Eaters is a masterpiece of science writing. Burning with open-minded curiosity, this exploration of the emerging revolution in plant science will challenge what you think you know and ignite a new way of seeing the plant world. Part detective story, part field trip and part philosophy, this brilliant book stretches the mind, toward a profound new understanding of the sophistication of under-appreciated plants. I feel it as an antidote to arrogance, as it engenders humility, respect and awe for the light eaters who make the world." - Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants "A brilliant must-read about the marvels of the green world. This book shook and changed me, revealing plant intelligence as more strange and wondrous than I could imagine. Zoë Schlanger's explorations brim with curiosity and every page brings new revelation and insight." - David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken, The Songs of Trees, and The Forest Unseen "A stunning book . . . will transform how you see not only plants but the nature of all life." - Scientific American "[A] fascinating journey through contemporary botanical research." - Orion "... [Zoë] looks beyond the leaves and branches to how our verdant neighbors perceive our world, offering a plant's eye view of life. . . . [The Light Eaters] shines." - Smithsonian magazine, "The Ten Best Science Books of 2024" "...Schlanger reminds us of a common truth that we tend to take for granted: plants are remarkable. Behind each stage of development in their lives is a complex system, one that she describes in awe-inspiring detail. Combining research with her own personal stories, the author illuminates why plants are so vital to our ecosystem and asks pressing questions about the relationship between humans and natural life. The result is a surprising and tender book of science writing that urges us all to reconsider how we think about the greenery that lives both in our homes and outside of them." - TIME, The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 "The human mind will boggle at least once per page." - Boston Globe, 75 Best Books of 2024 ". . . fascinating . . .Schlanger, who initially turned to the topic as a distraction from her relentlessly dispiriting work as a climate journalist (before quitting to obsess about plants full-time), introduces the reader to an engaging cast of boundary-pushing botanists and follows her curiosity to laboratories, jungles, and even a cave. Filled with eye-popping examples of vegetal feats and buoyed by Schlanger's earnest infatuation, The Light Eaters may not arrive at an indisputable conclusion--the debate continues, after all--but you will likely never look at your houseplants the same way." - Audubon Magazine, These 7 Books About Plants Deserve a Spot on Your Birding Bookshelf "[A] revelatory debut . . . The Light Eaters is an enchanting read that will compel you to consider the well-being of your humble houseplant." - TIME, The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 "Captivating." - Vanity Fair, "I'll never look at plants--or the natural world--in the same way again, after reading Zoë Schlanger's stunning book. Instead of trying to ram the square peg of botanical life into the round holes of human biology and metaphors, Schlanger instead considers plants on their own terms, as they actually are. The result is mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful." -- Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of An Immense World and I Contain Multitudes
SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The New Yorker 's Best Books of 2024 - TIME's 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 - New York Magazine's 10 Best Books of the Year - Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction of 2024 - Smithsonian 's 10 Best Science Books of the Year - A Best Book of the Year: Boston Globe, Scientific American , New York Public Library, Christian Science Monitor , Library Journal , and Publishers Weekly - An Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of the Year Longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Nonfiction Prize - Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize - Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize - Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History "A masterpiece of science writing." -Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass "Mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful." -Ed Yong, author of An Immense World "Rich, vital, and full of surprises. Read it!" -Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction Award-winning Atlantic staff writer Zoë Schlanger delivers a groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom, "destabilizing not just how we see the green things of the world but also our place in the hierarchy of beings, and maybe the notion of that hierarchy itself." ( The New Yorker ) It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents. The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close. What can we learn about life on Earth from the living things that thrive, adapt, consume, and accommodate simultaneously? More important, what do we owe these life forms once we come to understand their rich and varied abilities? Examining the latest epiphanies in botanical research, Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is. We need plants to survive. But what do they need us for--if at all? An eye-opening and informative look at the ecosystem we live in, this book challenges us to rethink the role of plants--and our own place--in the natural world., NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The New Yorker's Best Books of 2024 * TIME's 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 * New York Magazine's 10 Best Books of the Year * Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction of 2024 * Smithsonian's 10 Best Science Books of the Year * A Best Book of the Year: Boston Globe, Scientific American, New York Public Library, Christian Science Monitor, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly * An Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of the Year Longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Nonfiction Prize * Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize * Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize * Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History "A masterpiece of science writing." -Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass "Mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful." -Ed Yong, author of An Immense World "Rich, vital, and full of surprises. Read it!" -Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction Award-winning Atlantic staff writer Zoë Schlanger delivers a groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom, "destabilizing not just how we see the green things of the world but also our place in the hierarchy of beings, and maybe the notion of that hierarchy itself." (The New Yorker) It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents. The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close. What can we learn about life on Earth from the living things that thrive, adapt, consume, and accommodate simultaneously? More important, what do we owe these life forms once we come to understand their rich and varied abilities? Examining the latest epiphanies in botanical research, Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is. We need plants to survive. But what do they need us for--if at all? An eye-opening and informative look at the ecosystem we live in, this book challenges us to rethink the role of plants--and our own place--in the natural world.
LC Classification NumberQK711.2.S34 2024
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- 27 Oct, 2025
Don't miss this one!
No cons at all. Be prepared to re-think your idea of consciousness and your connection with the universe! And you thought this book was only about plants....no. There is much more. You will be shocked at the new scientific knowledge of plants and their abilities.Verified purchase: YesCondition: New
- 30 May, 2024
Pleased
PleasedVerified purchase: YesCondition: New
