Review by Choice Review
Some particular flowers have long histories of importance in many cultures, whether as religious or other sorts of symbols, sources of useful products, or much-desired objects of beauty in gardens or in works of art. Here, author/journalist Potter investigates the historical significance of seven flowers in separate chapters: "Lotus," "Lily," "Sunflower," "Opium Poppy," "Rose," "Tulip," and "Orchid." The author includes information from a wide variety of sources and cultures, from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome to Europe, China, Japan, and the Americas. For each flower, readers learn about its significance in mythology and religion, the history of its introduction in various cultures, its involvement in historical events, important individuals connected with some aspect of that flower, and its role in literature and art. The volume includes black-and-white illustrations and beautiful color plates. Rather than furnish endnotes, Potter provides a bibliographical essay on her sources for the information in each chapter; fuller references, by page number, are available online. This is a very erudite book that will interest scholars and academics, but it can also be read with pleasure by the general public, who will enjoy its readable style and interesting stories. --Marit S. Taylor, University of Colorado Denver
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
For Potter (The Rose), the seven flowers in this book share "a complex and contrary history," from the tulip, used as a tool for financial speculation, to the sunflower, whose stature put it out of favor with gardeners even while inspiring artists and writers. Potter takes each flower in turn, starting with a detailed history from ancient times. For example, the lily's story starts with "spectacular lily frescoes found in the Cretan palace complex of Knossos." Like jungles of lotus in China, Potter's flowers take on further abundant and tangled associations in the early Christian world, the medieval period, and the new world. From there, the flowers make their symbolic presence felt most strongly in Western art and literature-from van Gogh's sunflowers to Gertrude Stein's famous "rose is a rose is a rose." Not a traditional botanical guide by any measure, Potter's book is for the armchair florist, the orchid-obsessed, and the history reader with a green thumb. The flowers are an excuse to arrange a bouquet of interesting vignettes, such as the origins of the fleur-de-lis or the introduction of laudanum, made from opium poppies, in Western medicine. If Potter's source list is any indication, she has distilled a massive amount of information into an erudite book with an entertaining conceit. Agent: Caroline Dawnay, United Agents. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Horticultural historian Potter (The Rose) presents an intricate, well-researched and documented account of seven flower species (lotus, lily, sunflower, opium poppy, rose, tulip, and orchid) that have played significant roles in history, culture, science, and the humanities. Laced with art, poetry, and poetic prose, Potter's work takes readers on a journey that traces each of these flowers' roots and their introductions beyond their original borders and uses. From the blue lotus of ancient Egypt and the connections Egyptians made between its blooms and the daily birth and death of Ra the sun god to contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's use of sunflower seeds to provoke commentary on geopolitical economics, -Potter's flowers captivate. The words of poets, philosophers and historians and quotations from works of religion, art, and science allow readers to follow each flower's complex migration from first documentation to consideration of it today. (For a different take on the opium poppy and heroin production in Afghanistan and its role in contemporary world politics, see Gretchen Peters's Seeds of Terror.) VERDICT Not just for those interested in botany or gardening but those who appreciate history, art history, religious studies, and literature. This is a work that will appeal to, and satisfy, a broad readership.-Jenny -Contakos, Art Inst. of Virginia Beach Lib. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Botanical writer Potter (The Rose, 2011) examines the rich history of "the flowers of healing; of delirium and death; of purity and passion; of greed, envy and virtue; of hope and consolation; of the beauty that drives men wild." Going back to evidence of roses more than 35 million years ago, the author traces the beginnings and great influences of that iconic flower, as well as the lotus, lily, opium poppy, sunflower, tulip and orchid. While English gardeners will benefit more from the author's deep discussion of various species, most other readers will enjoy the luscious botanical descriptions. The earliest descriptions of plants predate Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus' 18th-century binomial nomenclature and were often misnamed. For example, the fleur-de-lis is not a lily but rather a flag iris, and water lilies aren't really lotuses. In addition to the power of flowers to speak metaphorically, Potter explores their influence on art, literature and especially the medicinal arts. The opium poppy has 40 alkaloids, including codeine and morphine, while the lovely tulip has no use as either nourishment or medicine. Even so, tulip fever led to the financial ruin of thousands in 17th-century Holland. Globalization of different species of flowers began with Alexander the Great, whose army carried plants to their new conquests, and the Romans continued the spread. The trade routes, especially the Silk Road, transferred even more specimens, as did the plant hunters of the British Empire. The spread of the opium poppy can be laid at the feet of the British, as they fought the opium wars to be allowed to export the opium they grew in India to China. Though Potter is occasionally too thorough in her information, anyone who has ever planted a seed or loved a flower can appreciate the author's knowledge and devotion.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
