Second Nature

A Gardener's Education

By: Michael Pollan

Narrated by: Michael Pollan

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

In his articles and in best-selling books such as The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan has established himself as one of our most important and beloved writers on modern man's place in the natural world. A new literary classic, Second Nature has become a manifesto not just for gardeners but for environmentalists everywhere.

Chosen by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 greatest books ever written about gardening, Second Nature captures the rhythms of our everyday engagement with the outdoors in all its glory and exasperation. With chapters ranging from a reconsideration of the Great American Lawn, a dispatch from one man's war with a woodchuck, to an essay about the sexual politics of roses, Pollan has created a passionate and eloquent argument for reconceiving our relationship with nature.

©2003 Michael Pollan (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ Second Nature reads like brilliant entertainment, but it is serious wisdom. Michael Pollan…is a genuine heir to my favorite nature writer, Mark Twain.” (Simon Schama, The Boston Globe)

at first i thought it a little slow

Would you consider the audio edition of Second Nature to be better than the print version?

micheal has a good reading voice and since listening is my favorite reading method it works for me

What other book might you compare Second Nature to and why?

only his other books

Which character – as performed by Michael Pollan – was your favorite?

himself

Any additional comments?

yes this book is well worth the read for the new perspective it gave me on weeds

Great listen...

This book was a joy to listen to. I always enjoy a book that paints a good picture and exercises my imagination. If you enjoy philosophy and in general like to explore different ways of thinking about your life and your surroundings you should enjoy this book. He should continue to read his own books. The narrator of his other books is terrible!

I love Michael's storytelling

I love Michael's storytelling and because I am a gardener, this book has many good philisophical nuggets for me

I’m not the target audience, and yet...

I am a 30-year-old rock musician who loves Star Wars and Taco Bell; also a man who has never garden before. Suffice it to say, this particular book would seem to be not for my ilk, and yet many a time I found myself laughing, reflecting, and hoping to start a garden myself. In this book’s pages, the author goes to great lengths to ensure that neither Thoreau nor the palace of Versailles is paramount in his mind, but firmly “roots” his ideas of the garden in the personality of a New England pragmatist. Beautifully written and utterly charming.

Lovely Gardening Memoir

The walk through Michael Pollan’s life and garden provides some profound perspective on what it means to steward life in its various facets. The views of weeds, the care of trees, and the development of the green thumb produces symbolism of a culture in its vegetation. Much like the writings of Thoreau, Muir, Berry, and other great horticultural and agricultural authors of the American interior, Second Nature beckons the reader/listener to consider ones own relationship with nature and how it so perfectly reflects the soul of the individual and the community in which it resides.

I very much enjoyed hearing about Pollan’s personal development as a gardener, and I have so much more symbolism to consider in my own development as a gardener. I recommend this book for amateur gardeners, especially, as well as for those who “have no green thumb” but admire the ways in which others can grow myriad living things, and for horticulturists who enjoy symbolic beauty.

Fascinating read!

Very interesting book describing Pollan's journey in the world of gardening, full of wit and philosophical insight. One of my favorite books in the last few years. I believe I have evolved somewhat just by having listened to this audiobook. Even Pollan's voice strikes the right tone, calm and soothing without being dull and boring.

unexpected treasure

helped me rethink my gardening ethic. I especially loved the chapter about weeds. happy reading

A unique exploration of the gardening experience.

Whether you’re a new gardener or seasoned one, you’ll enjoy how the author unwittingly shares his perspectives and unveils why we gardeners do what we do as we co-evolve and grow along with our gardens and the never ending changes on our journey as gardeners.

Lush no-nonsensical brilliance

This book already bears what Pollan will bring to perfection in Botany of Desire: cross pollination between science, history, cultural and human sociology, poetry, sheer observation, hands-on experience, tenderness, and humor. A book that enriches, teaches, entertains, and pleases enormously. The unassuming tone of Pollan's voice at every "turn of a page" gently invites the reader to follow the author along his thinking process. And the reader obliges gleefully. A perfect read anytime of year, but probably even more appropriate for the spring.

great!

a modern-day Walden! the author both eases and stimulates the mind on a journey through a path in the garden