Critical Praise

"Ackerman’s joy is palpable and persuasive when she turns her gaze outward, lost in the diffuse surmise of compassion, spiked through with awe, filled with admiration for the growth that passes through her hands and before her eyes."

——Washington Post Book World

"A fascinating tour of plant mythology and fact …[Ackerman] plays both sleuth and poet."

——People

"Diane Ackerman takes us down the garden path with a renewed sense of awe …[and] enlightened eyes."

——Los Angeles Times

"Ackerman’s rich prose is a bridge to a world of discovery."

——Nature

"The joy of reading Diane Ackerman comes form the sheer beauty of her language … [it] inspires us to recognize the importance of cultivating delight."

——Christian Science Monitor

"Lyrical, knowledgeable and imaginative."

——Booklist

"An enchanting intellectual sensualist … Ackerman buzzes productively from idea to revelation to insight … [with] breezy philosophical lyricism."

——Publishers Weekly (* Starred Review *)