Reviews: Peter Tompkins & Christopher Bird

The Secret Life of Plants

By: 
Peter Tompkins & Christopher Bird

reviews-secret-life-of-plants.jpgWhen The Secret Life of Plants was published in 1973 it was very popular. It made the best sellers list and was picked up by six major book clubs.  In the ensuing decades none of the studies cited in this book have been disproved which could lead to much speculation as to what has caused such discoveries to be largely ignored. This is a book about pioneers, the people who had a stray thought, or an unexpected result, or the chance to spend enough time in the natural world to begin to hear and see. It is a densely packed book full of names and short descriptions of experiments, hard going at times.  Taken all together these experiments present a picture of the natural world that we normally do not encounter, a world of plants that seem to behave more like people than we ever imagined. It is a world filled with radiant energy, sound waves, light and a good dash of mystery. We still do not understand the world of plants but we are invited to go along, experiment with our own plants, to make a beginning.