Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities

Amy Stewart has accomplished a remarkable feat! She has made what essentially should be a field guide to noxious weeds into an interesting audible book! The book gives a lot of botanical facts - interspersed with a lot of personal stories about the effect of the various weeds on people . . . as well as habitat. What really impressed me, however, was Coleen Marlo's impeccable Latin! She lets those compliccated botanical names roll off her tongue like a true native! Interesting read/listen - but I'm still not convinced that this is the best format to truly appreciate this work!

This is another book I can listen to over and over. Amy Stewart is one of my favorite non-fiction authors. And Coleen Marlo is one of my favorite 'readers' too...very expressive, she holds my attention through the entire book. This is a great book.

Nothing. It's not a book that is meant for audio.

The main theme in this book, to me, seems to be quantity over quality. There are endless plants (and fungi) that are described, but the explanations for each one are so short - a lot of them taught me nothing I hadn't already known. I guess if you know exactly nothing about plants you would probably learn more than I did.

She was given a bad book to read, so maybe it's not her fault. Just didn't like anything about this.

This book was very annoying as an audiobook. I should've looked it up on Amazon first to see how the book was laid out. It might be a good book to keep around (in paper form) for reference, but it is ridiculous to put it to audio. It's like listening to an encyclopedia. Encyclopedia's are good books, but you don't sit and read it cover to cover. You refer to it. Why someone decided this should be an audiobook baffles me. I couldn't even listen to half of it...and any of my friends will tell you I am a bit obsessed with plants, so I (of all people) should've loved this book.

Hate to turn people away from a book about plants. If you really want to get the most out of this, buy a paper copy.

i would highly recommend you purchase the printed version of this book. the text is interesting, but it reads like an encyclopedia.

it is just to hard without pictures this is one book that would have really benefited from a pdf readalong file. It also got a bit discounterting to hear over and over "meet the realitives"
still well worth the listen and great information. It could save your life to know not to cook marshmellows on a daphne stick! I think that alone makes it worth getting.

Amy Stewart just published the already much referenced “The Drunken Botanist: The Plants that Create the World’s Great Drinks” (2013).” I knew when I finished “The Drunken Botanist” I’d never settle for a badly made cocktail. Just yesterday, I was annoyed to see a “martini” menu at a well known chain restaurant (whose name resembles The Cheesecake Factory) listing only “vodka martinis”. Thanks to Stewart’s help, I made sure I got a real martini – made with gin.

“Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities” (2009) is much shorter than “The Drunken Botanist”, and not quite as fun. There are no drink recipes in this one, but plenty of advice on what NOT to eat or drink.

In Stewart’s hands, each ‘wicked plant’ takes on a distinct personality. Some are bullying newcomers, like Japanese-native kudzu, which was imported for erosion control but is invading the American south. Some plants are deceptive, like foxglove. Used correctly, it produces the life saving digitalis. Used incorrectly, foxglove kills. It turns out the ubiquitous but much-maligned poinsettia plant is an irritant, not a poison.

I realized – and was quite disconcerted – that I am surrounded by poisonous plants. There are beautiful but poisonous oleander trees in my yard, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen hemlock in my yard, and, thinking back on it – as much as I loved pulling up and eating raw rhubarb as a child, I’m very lucky I’m here.

“Wicked Plants”, like Stewart’s “Wicked Bugs: The Louse that Conquered Napoleon’s Army and Other Diabolical Insects” (2011), is an A to Z encyclopedia of the bad boys of the natural world.

I wondered if I might have been better off with “Wicked Plants” in print so that I could see what Stewart was describing. I thought about it, and realized that if I had done that, I wouldn’t have had Colleen Marlo’s narration to tell me how to pronounce the names.

I’m not sure that I’ll buy “Wicked Plants” in text (I will buy “The Drunken Botanist” on paper for the recipes!), but it was definitely worth the listen.

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The information is interesting if you can stay awake long enough to get to it. This is, in essence, a dictionary. Not a good audible experience!

There were some interesting anecdotes spread throughout the book.

It didn't really increase my interest in the subject matter.

No, she does not.

When narrating the taxonomy, her voice sounded like an automated message.

This is an enjoyable book for those who also like to read tidbits of trivia, in this case about poisonous plants. I listened to this while I ran on the treadmill during my workout. Lots of neat stuff to learn about without being too weighed down with specific scientific speak. For the casual nerd who doesn't necessarily have to be into plants.

This is not a book for plant lovers who enjoy celebrating nature by reading sympathetic and personal relationships with flora such as the works of Michael Pollan or "Weeds" by Richard Mabey. It is simply a compilation of brief descriptions of plants that are harmful to people, their economy or pets. The personal and social notes accompanying the often scary facts appear to be more in service of accentuating the shock value than in in elucidating the natural or social history of the plant in question.

On the other hand, It does cover a wide range of plants throughout the word and provides the botanical names for each species, which is very useful if you want to seek more information about the plant. After listening to the audiobook I ordered a hard copy as a reference book, but it's not on my night table.