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Secrets #2
The Secret Garden: Dawn to Dusk in the Astonishing Hidden World of the Garden
'Every day in the hours between dawn and dusk, in gardens and backyards everywhere, a curious invisible world comes to life around us and beneath our feet. In "The Secret Garden," David Bodanis takes us on an eye-opening journey through this mysterious domain where plants and insects engage daily in a Darwinian epic of survival.
Ants navigate through a forest of grass blades, forming networks that act as a living "computer" to gather intelligence from the world above. Caterpillars attack a shrub, which in turn sends up a chemical signal to call for help from a passing wasp. Roots from different plants battle one another underground with sophisticated chemical weapons, releasing poisonous gases into the soil. A tiny triungulin, the juvenile form of a common beetle, launches itself from a geranium leaf to latch on to a passing bee. An oak tree registers where a beetle is biting into its bark and targets the damaged quadrant with dangerous poisons, while other trees puff out warning vapors when they're under attack by insects. Through it all wander a couple who are oblivious to the activity taking place around them and unaware of the effect their very presence has on the garden's environment.
As in his wonderful previous book, "The Secret House," David Bodanis once again guides us through the terrain of the familiar yet unseen world around us and brilliantly transforms it. Written with the same witty style that the Washington Post called "marvelously captivating" and illustrated throughout with state-of-the-art microphotographs, "The Secret Garden" is an astonishing book that will fascinate and delight anyone who has ever set foot in a garden.'
(description from the book flap)
Ants navigate through a forest of grass blades, forming networks that act as a living "computer" to gather intelligence from the world above. Caterpillars attack a shrub, which in turn sends up a chemical signal to call for help from a passing wasp. Roots from different plants battle one another underground with sophisticated chemical weapons, releasing poisonous gases into the soil. A tiny triungulin, the juvenile form of a common beetle, launches itself from a geranium leaf to latch on to a passing bee. An oak tree registers where a beetle is biting into its bark and targets the damaged quadrant with dangerous poisons, while other trees puff out warning vapors when they're under attack by insects. Through it all wander a couple who are oblivious to the activity taking place around them and unaware of the effect their very presence has on the garden's environment.
As in his wonderful previous book, "The Secret House," David Bodanis once again guides us through the terrain of the familiar yet unseen world around us and brilliantly transforms it. Written with the same witty style that the Washington Post called "marvelously captivating" and illustrated throughout with state-of-the-art microphotographs, "The Secret Garden" is an astonishing book that will fascinate and delight anyone who has ever set foot in a garden.'
(description from the book flap)
192 pages, Hardcover
First published April 22, 1993
2 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
David Bodanis
19 books154 followersDavid Bodanis' latest book THE ART OF FAIRNESS: THE POWER OF DECENCY IN A WORLD TURNED MEAN was published November 2020 and asks the question that has long fascinated David: Can you succeed without being a terrible person? The answer is 'Yes, but you need skill', and the book shows how. I demonstrate those insights through a series of biographies…
David Bodanis is the bestselling author of THE SECRET HOUSE and E=MC2, which was turned into a PBS documentary and a Southbank Award-winning ballet at Sadler's Wells. David also wrote ELECTRIC UNIVERSE, which won the Royal Society Science Book of the Year Prize, and PASSIONATE MINDS, a BBC Book of the Week. Then a return to Einstein and the struggles he went through with EINSTEIN'S GREATEST MISTAKE which was named ‘Science Book of the Year’ by the Sunday Times, and also widely translated.
David has worked for the Royal Dutch Shell Scenario Prediction unit and the World Economic Forum. He has been a popular speaker at TED conferences and at Davos. His work has been published in the Financial Times, the Guardian, and the New York Times, and has appeared on Newsnight, Start the Week, and other programs. When not slumped in front of a laptop, he has been known to attempt kickboxing, with highly variable results.
David Bodanis is the bestselling author of THE SECRET HOUSE and E=MC2, which was turned into a PBS documentary and a Southbank Award-winning ballet at Sadler's Wells. David also wrote ELECTRIC UNIVERSE, which won the Royal Society Science Book of the Year Prize, and PASSIONATE MINDS, a BBC Book of the Week. Then a return to Einstein and the struggles he went through with EINSTEIN'S GREATEST MISTAKE which was named ‘Science Book of the Year’ by the Sunday Times, and also widely translated.
David has worked for the Royal Dutch Shell Scenario Prediction unit and the World Economic Forum. He has been a popular speaker at TED conferences and at Davos. His work has been published in the Financial Times, the Guardian, and the New York Times, and has appeared on Newsnight, Start the Week, and other programs. When not slumped in front of a laptop, he has been known to attempt kickboxing, with highly variable results.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 31, 2022
Full of microscropic and chemical interactions that vary during the day in a garden. Fascinating details.
September 24, 2022
Non-fiction. The micro-world of the great outdoors, as found in the ordinary back yard. I showed Zach some of the photographs and told him what was out there. He would have preferred to remain blissfully ignorant. Now maybe he'll be more careful to wash his hands after coming in from outside. I'd like to write a sci-fi story someday about a race of people who communicate by odorous gases instead of speech like some plants and insects. Cursing could take the form of a particularly noxious wind...
July 23, 2013
Wonderful inspirational book. Every parent who wants their child to understand the wonder of the garden and the relationship between plants, soil, insects and humans should real it. All primary teachers who want children to be in awe of nature will find lots to share will children and learn so much!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews