The Green Planet

BBC Green Planet

by Simon Barnes

Accompanies the BBC series presented by David Attenborough

There's something new under the sun

Plants live secret, unseen lives - hidden in their magical world and on their timescale. From the richest jungles to the harshest deserts, from the snowiest alpine forest to the remotest steaming swamp, Green Planet travels from one great habitat to the next, showing us that plants are as aggressive, competitive and dramatic as the animals on our planet. You will discover agents of death, who ruthlessly engulf their host plant, but also those that form deep and complex relationships with other species, such as the desert cacti who use nectar-loving bats to pollinate. Although plants are undoubtedly the stars of the show, a fascinating new light will be shed on the animals that interact with them.

Using the latest technologies and showcasing over two decades of new discoveries, Green Planet reveals the strange and wonderful life of plants like never before - a life full of remarkable behaviour, emotional stories and surprising heroes.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Plants, Environment

320 pages, Hardcover

Published May 6, 2022

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, well written, packed full of information and a great accompaniment to the amazing TV series.
It's not always easy to read non-fiction. I have enjoyed Simon Barnes's bad birdwatcher books and he has a very readable writing style. I have owned this book for six months and I have just completed reading it for the second time. I am slightly puzzled by people that purchase books for their appearance rather than the wealth of knowledge they contain.

[Camilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to call these books picture books for adults and I love it! Amazing pictures accompanied with explaning text and new knowledge - right up my alley! Perfect 🤩

Can also recommend the television series with the same name!

[Sabina_bere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Čudovita hvalnica rastlinskemu svetu! Toplo priporočam.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25 stars

[Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had the brief opportunity to flit through this book, it was very interesting! It’s split into chapters for different ‘worlds’ with each one containing many vignettes about various plant ecosystems and their connection to their respective surroundings. The writer provides great statements about human influence of virgin, untouched environments. On top of this, it has many beautiful photos to fill up the spaces- all of which are breathtaking. Even as someone more interested in the animal side of biology, this book was a pleasure to read. Hope to own a copy of my own someday!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book to accompany the BBC TV series of the same name. The text describes the plant world, and how we depend on it, by splitting it into five types: Tropical, Desert, Seasonal, Water and Human. It is filled with photographs and the text is very readable. It is somewhat depressing reading about how much damage we've done, but there is a slightly uplifting ending. A very interesting book with lots of information.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this, and I learn’t an awful lot about the world around us. I can highly recommend this if you like plants, and want to learn more about the wonderful work they do.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly fascinating look at the world of plants, their lives in this world and their interactions with other species on Earth, including humans. I think the book is meant as a companion to the recent BBC series. I haven’t seen that, but this was fantastic in its own right, as it is broken into section detailing tropical rainforests, deserts, seasonal forests, plants and water, and plants in the human world. There are dozens upon dozens of incredible photos throughout, which elevate the experience of reading this. Some chapters I knew about through my own scientific interests and recently teaching the topics at school, but this in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book. There were a couple of typos towards the end but again, this didn’t detract from the reading experience.
Overall, this made me really think about the plants I recently purchased for the meagre garden in my London outskirts flat, and what it could be with a bit more time and experience and patience. Not a religious person at all, but it was almost like a green fingered epiphany reading this, in the best of ways. I highly recommend this to everyone, all and sundry. I give it five tree stars! 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seldom read the books that accompany BBC series as they are inevitably full of photos and have hardly any additional content in the text. Made an exception for this as it seems quite thick and heavier on text than photos and the non-coffee table book format also appealed to me. I wasn't disappointed as Barnes wrote in an engaging manner that flowed well. Descriptions of segments I had already seen on film I glossed over, but there were enough additional material to make the reading worthwhile. Chapters were divided according to the episodes, with each dedicated to a particular environment. I only read the tropics, seasonal and human ones. With every succeeding BBC docuseries trying to outdo the previous with filming techniques that focus on spectacle and drama, it is refreshing to again go back to the science and biology of living things, and one learns a lot more from reading a book than watching films.

[Rudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 sterren voor de tekst , 5 voor de foto’s , is 10 sterren x10 ,
Een prachtig boek over planten , met uitstapjes naar de dieren , verbluffende wezens die weten hoe ze dieren kunnen plantineren met hun uitzicht of geur of smaak of neurologische uitwerkingen , ....
in het boek staat enkele maal de uitdrukking deep time , Dat is waarschijnlijk waarom (sommige) mensen rustig worden van aanwezigheid van planten er is niet echt een gisteren of morgen of verleden jaren of toekomstige jaren , ....
en mss ook waarom ( sommige ) mensen nerveus worden van insecten , korte dagen , snelle dagen ,
De tijds perceptie van planten is waarschijnlijk een stuk trager bij planten , en een stuk sneller bij insecten dan de tijds perceptie van Sapiens ,

[Gréta Doláková · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vizuálne nádherná kniha s hodnotným posolstvom a odhaleniami prírodných súvislostí, ktoré nás bezprostredne spájajú s okolitým rastlinným svetom. Bez tohto sveta by sme totiž neexistovali a je čím ďalej nutnejšie si to uvedomovať a jednať podľa toho. Napriek malým písmenám, ktoré ma na knihách trochu vytáčajú a niekedy kostrbatému prekladu to však bola pre mňa veľmi hodnotná literatúra a dozvedela som sa veľa nových fascinujúcich faktov. Určite odporúčam nielen tým koho táto tématika zaujíma, oveľa viac je potrebná tým, ktorý sa snažia tento fakt závislosti ľudstva na rastlinách a celkovo životnom prostredí ignorovať. Plus parádnym bonusom je rovnomenná televízna séria, ktorá s knihou súčasne dotvára parádny zážitok - milujem keď čítam a potom vidím👀

[Gurtha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kniha obsahuje neskutečně zajímavá fakta o rostlinách, provede vás prakticky celým světem a ukáže mnoho z jeho divů, osobně se mi ale dost špatně četla - jedná se o převyprávění stejnojmenného dokumentu, takže autor mnohdy nepopisuje přírodu, ale přírodu, která se odehrála v dílu tohoto pořadu. Přijde mi to poněkud schizofrenní a mám raději knihy, které píšou přírovedci rovnou - pak máte pocit, že to vy stojíte v džungly/v korytě řeky atp. v této knize tam vždy stojí jen žasnoucí David Attenborough a vy na něj koukáte dalekohledem, který ani není váš - půjčil vám ho totiž jistý Simon Barnes.

[Matthew Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important book supporting an important television series. Plants are an often overlooked part of nature and the environment, however they are the lifeblood of it. This book is a must read for anyone with an interest in nature and truly opens your eyes to the importance of plants.

[Avery Children · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Danka Laciková · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book about different plants. Their diversity is fascinating. Plus amazing pictures ...I really recommend.