Driven by Nature: A Personal Journey from Shanghai to Botany and Global Sustainability

by Peter H. Raven, E.O. Wilson (Foreword), Eric Engles (Editor)

It’s safe to say that few people have lived lives as thoroughly devoted to plants as Peter H. Raven has. The longtime director—now president emeritus—of the Missouri Botanical Garden, author of numerous leading textbooks and several hundred scholarly articles, Raven has been a tireless champion of sustainability and biodiversity, earning him the plaudit of “Hero for the Planet” from Time .

Driven by Nature is the first chronicle of this prominent scientist and conservationist’s life. Moving from his idyllic childhood in the San Francisco of the 1940s to his four decades leading the Missouri Botanical Garden, Raven’s autobiography takes readers across multiple continents and decades. Driven by Nature follows the globetrotting botanist from China to the American Midwest as he works to foster concern for a changing planet, further the cause of biological education, and build the Missouri Botanical Garden into the world-renowned haven for plant life it is today. Raven brings his story into the twenty-first century with a timely epilogue that reinforces the crucial importance of scientific learning, active conservation, and committed activism in the face of a rapidly changing natural world.

Featuring an introduction by the Pulitzer Prize-winning naturalist E. O. Wilson, this beautifully illustrated book should thrill nature lovers, plant enthusiasts, and environmentally-conscious readers looking to take action to preserve our planet’s biodiversity.

408 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 2021

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book because it was about the director of the St. Louis Botanical Garden. It was interesting to see how Peter Raven grew up, became interested in botany and traveled the world to learn more about the world of plants. His tenure at the S.L. B. G. was very fruitful: while there he added many new features, including the Japanese and Chinese gardens.
This is not an easy book to read. It contains many generic names of plants, many names of scientists, and in many ways reads like a text book, though it is the personal story of Raven's life.
I read most of the book, but after the part about the St. Louis garden, I lost interest. It is beautifully illustrated and someone with an interest in botany would find it fascinating.

[Gene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, thought provoking and entertaining. Certainly not a quick read but a worthwhile one.