Lives of Weeds: Opportunism, Resistance, Folly

by John Cardina Narrated by Mike Lenz

Overview

Lives of Weeds explores the tangled history of weeds and their relationship to humans. Through eight interwoven stories, John Cardina offers a fresh perspective on how these tenacious plants came about, why they are both inevitable and essential, and how their ecological success is ensured by determined efforts to eradicate them. Linking botany, history, ecology, and evolutionary biology to the social dimensions of humanity's ancient struggle with feral flora, Cardina shows how weeds have shaped-and are shaped by-the way we live in the natural world.



Weeds and attempts to control them drove nomads toward settled communities, encouraged social stratification, caused environmental disruptions, and have motivated the development of GMO crops. They have snared us in social inequality and economic instability, infested social norms of suburbia, caused rage in the American heartland, and played a part in perpetuating pesticide use worldwide. Lives of Weeds reveals how the technologies directed against weeds underlie ethical questions about agriculture and the environment, and leaves readers with a deeper understanding of how the weeds around us are entangled in our daily choices.

Editorial Reviews

DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile

This audiobook is a cautionary tale about unintended consequences in American agriculture. The lesson is that the more we try to control weeds chemically and genetically, the more they fight back. Mike Lenz offers a clear, easy-on-the-ears narration that carries the book along nicely. His pace is good, and his tone exactly fits the first-person text. Conversations between the author and farmers and fellow scientists sound appropriately conversational. But while the work is written for interested lay people, not scientists, some listeners may struggle with scientific terms and descriptions of research methods. Overall, though, the message that science and corporate farming work against nature comes through. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

06/28/2021

In this expert debut, horticulture and crop science professor Cardina explores humans’ “long and ongoing relationship with weedy plants.” According to Cardina, weeds are not “plants out of place” but “outcomes of a human-directed global economy that demands constant growth and extraction at the expense of what is left of the natural world.” And by trying to subdue weeds through a “spray-and-pray” approach of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, Cardina writes, humans have inadvertently bolstered the plants’ resilience. Cardina profiles eight weed types—dandelion (“among the most easily recognized plants on earth” and “one of the most deeply despised”), Florida beggarweed, velvetleaf, nutsedge, marestail (a “symbol of misplaced hopes of no-till farmers”), pigweed, ragweed, and foxtail—unearthing their roles throughout history (velvetleaf fibers were used in pre–Zhou dynasty China for shoes and clothing) and explaining how they’ve evolved (nutsedge has thrived because it releases chemicals to stunt the growth of neighboring plants). Throughout, Cardina remains curious, wryly humorous, and blunt: “People remain willing to jeopardize their health and the health of their kids, pets, and neighbors because of a yellow flower that poses no risk.” Focused and fascinating, Cardina’s pull-no-punches account will leave readers rethinking whether those pesky plants are really all that bad. (Sept.)

Economic Botany

Blending personal anecdotes of eight weedy plants with research from a broad range of disciplines, Cardina covers a diversity of topics in a remarkably fluid and comprehensive manner. Drawing upon such fields as botany, ecology, evolutionary biology, conservation, and agriculture, the book is a captivating and accessible narrative of humanity's complex and intermingled relationship with the "botanical misfits" commonly referred to as weeds.

Nature

[John Cardina's] penetrating analysis disentangles botany from history by offering eight interwoven stories, each focused on one weed, some familiar, others less so.

Choice

Cardina weaves together autobiographical and historical anecdotes, precise explanations of plant biology, and speculative but startlingly plausible evolutionary scenarios involving human agency and facilitation for eight common plant species currently considered weeds, or "plants of disrepute." The result is a series of highly readable vignettes about agricultural weeds and their interaction with human culture. Students and researchers in agriculture and ecology will likely enjoy reading Cardina's witty natural history of weedy plants and should consider his suggestions for how and why to treat them with greater respect.

From the Publisher

[John Cardina's] penetrating analysis disentangles botany from history by offering eight interwoven stories, each focused on one weed, some familiar, others less so.

-- "Nature"

Blending personal anecdotes of eight weedy plants with research from a broad range of disciplines, Cardina covers a diversity of topics in a remarkably fluid and comprehensive manner. Drawing upon such fields as botany, ecology, evolutionary biology, conservation, and agriculture, the book is a captivating and accessible narrative of humanity's complex and intermingled relationship with the "botanical misfits" commonly referred to as weeds.

-- "Economic Botany"

Cardina weaves together autobiographical and historical anecdotes, precise explanations of plant biology, and speculative but startlingly plausible evolutionary scenarios involving human agency and facilitation for eight common plant species currently considered weeds, or "plants of disrepute." The result is a series of highly readable vignettes about agricultural weeds and their interaction with human culture. Students and researchers in agriculture and ecology will likely enjoy reading Cardina's witty natural history of weedy plants and should consider his suggestions for how and why to treat them with greater respect.

-- "Choice"

In this expert debut, Cardina explores humans' 'long and ongoing relationship with weedy plants.' Focused and fascinating.

-- "Publisher's Weekly"

Nature Lib

[John Cardina's] penetrating analysis disentangles botany from history by offering eight interwoven stories, each focused on one weed, some familiar, others less so.

DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile

This audiobook is a cautionary tale about unintended consequences in American agriculture. The lesson is that the more we try to control weeds chemically and genetically, the more they fight back. Mike Lenz offers a clear, easy-on-the-ears narration that carries the book along nicely. His pace is good, and his tone exactly fits the first-person text. Conversations between the author and farmers and fellow scientists sound appropriately conversational. But while the work is written for interested lay people, not scientists, some listeners may struggle with scientific terms and descriptions of research methods. Overall, though, the message that science and corporate farming work against nature comes through. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176144611
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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