kriff08's review
4.0
This is nowhere near a book I thought I’d be reading, but Outlander season 5 had me craving some early America and February had me longing for spring. I picked this up and read a few chapters and then a few more and then to my amazement finished this book. I’m saying this as a reader that knows very little about the founding fathers, gardening, and is generally a fiction person: this was a pretty good read.
I enjoyed the quotes, although some felt a bit of a stretch I did like reading about how much focus and time the founding fathers put into their crop and gardening exploits. I love the idea of carrying that with us as our history and as part of our future.
I enjoyed the quotes, although some felt a bit of a stretch I did like reading about how much focus and time the founding fathers put into their crop and gardening exploits. I love the idea of carrying that with us as our history and as part of our future.
kahale's review
4.0
This is a great book for people who like gardens and history. Shows the "Founding Fathers" of Washington, Adams, Franklin, and Madison and the influence plants, trees, and flowers influenced even their political thinking.
erikars's review
2.0
The premise of this book is a charming one: many of the founding fathers, particularly Jefferson, Adams, Madison, and Washington, were avid gardeners. What lessons can their passion teach us?
These individuals do, indeed, have lessons to teach us, but, it seems, not quite a book's worth. These founding fathers embraced an ideal which held up the independent, innovative, beauty loving farmer as the ideal citizen (indeed, for Jefferson, this was the only type of citizen that a republic can be built upon). However, they never quite seem to grapple with the problem that the unification of these traits presupposes an education and resources not available to all.
The second lesson, and the one that resonates as a more relevant legacy today, was a pragmatic environmentalism. Although not environmentalists in the modern sense, these founding fathers saw the importance of the environment to both the economy and spirit of the United States. They were interested in reducing the use of fertility destroying farming techniques, finding new and useful plans in the American wilds, and collecting species for the sheer love of their beauty and grandeur.
The passages and sources which elaborate these views are scattered amidst sometimes tedious descriptions of minutia. Fort hose who like reading descriptions of gardens, this may be interesting. I was left bored.
Overall, it was a pleasant read, but not really worth more than half its length.
These individuals do, indeed, have lessons to teach us, but, it seems, not quite a book's worth. These founding fathers embraced an ideal which held up the independent, innovative, beauty loving farmer as the ideal citizen (indeed, for Jefferson, this was the only type of citizen that a republic can be built upon). However, they never quite seem to grapple with the problem that the unification of these traits presupposes an education and resources not available to all.
The second lesson, and the one that resonates as a more relevant legacy today, was a pragmatic environmentalism. Although not environmentalists in the modern sense, these founding fathers saw the importance of the environment to both the economy and spirit of the United States. They were interested in reducing the use of fertility destroying farming techniques, finding new and useful plans in the American wilds, and collecting species for the sheer love of their beauty and grandeur.
The passages and sources which elaborate these views are scattered amidst sometimes tedious descriptions of minutia. Fort hose who like reading descriptions of gardens, this may be interesting. I was left bored.
Overall, it was a pleasant read, but not really worth more than half its length.
jessferg's review
3.0
While the topic of this book is immensely interesting, the presentation is a little dry. Certainly a great overview of the landscapes of Washington Jefferson, Adams, and Madison with a good bit of politics thrown in for good measure.
Because of its academic nature, it is difficult to absorb all of the information (dates, who said what to who) beyond adding a few more notes to our usual understanding of early American politics before overload sets in, but to the gardener, getting the gist of what's going on is enough to proceed through the book with a good handle on how the political and farming/gardening lives of these men melded.
I am surprised at the lack of discussion regarding the role of slaves in all of these gardens and farms, although the last chapter does take it up a bit. The absence is most particularly noted in the chapters discussing the building of D.C., the Capitol, and the White House.
I look forward to reading Wulf's book on Bartram (Founding Brothers, I think) since this one merely whets the appetite for learning more about his plant hunting and cultivation and I suspect it will be slightly more accessible because of the reduction of figures covered as well as the more general cultural discussion that should surround it.
The included photos, maps, index, and bibliography are helpful to the reader. The footnotes add especially interesting tidbits and shouldn't be ignored.
Because of its academic nature, it is difficult to absorb all of the information (dates, who said what to who) beyond adding a few more notes to our usual understanding of early American politics before overload sets in, but to the gardener, getting the gist of what's going on is enough to proceed through the book with a good handle on how the political and farming/gardening lives of these men melded.
I am surprised at the lack of discussion regarding the role of slaves in all of these gardens and farms, although the last chapter does take it up a bit. The absence is most particularly noted in the chapters discussing the building of D.C., the Capitol, and the White House.
I look forward to reading Wulf's book on Bartram (Founding Brothers, I think) since this one merely whets the appetite for learning more about his plant hunting and cultivation and I suspect it will be slightly more accessible because of the reduction of figures covered as well as the more general cultural discussion that should surround it.
The included photos, maps, index, and bibliography are helpful to the reader. The footnotes add especially interesting tidbits and shouldn't be ignored.
chewdigestbooks's review
4.0
An interesting mix of history and botanical science, some of which I knew and a lot of which I didn't because of that gardening focus. You're going to have to be interested in both to enjoy it.
Sidenote on Slavery: I am constantly astounded by the juxtaposition of what many of the founding fathers said and supposedly felt about slavery and what they actually did in their every day lives.
Jefferson was a visionary in gardening and many other subjects, and yet, much of what he experimented with could have been done without slave labor, though I'm sure the wider plantation and it's slaves helped pay for it all. Not to mention his second family with Sally Hemmings. Though it was touching to read that he wanted daily updates on this trial planting or that from his daughter while in the White House.
Madison had a perfect little demonstration slave "village" a la Marie Antoinette to show how well he treated them, yet most of his slaves lived somewhere else on the plantation. He also promised to free many of his slaves on his death, yet Dolly, his wife, held onto them for all they were worth at long after his death.
Adams, oh Adams was a man before his time and abhorred slavery which is probably a good thing since most of his land in Quincy couldn't have supported full-scale agriculture like the South could.He also passed along his dislike of slavery to his son who was also a man before his time on the issue but hung in with the fight as long as he could.
Overall, the founding father's botanical wonder and fascination was something I could relate to if I set aside the whole slavery and leading the country stuff. Often history books paint them as doing ministerial things while visiting Europe and it was pleasing to hear that most had guidebooks to notable gardens and took tours to see what they could bring back to their own gardens. What was funny was that many of the species they came across in these gardens originated in the New World.
Good book for the history and garden lover. Tough to hear about the attitudes about slavery.
Sidenote on Slavery: I am constantly astounded by the juxtaposition of what many of the founding fathers said and supposedly felt about slavery and what they actually did in their every day lives.
Jefferson was a visionary in gardening and many other subjects, and yet, much of what he experimented with could have been done without slave labor, though I'm sure the wider plantation and it's slaves helped pay for it all. Not to mention his second family with Sally Hemmings. Though it was touching to read that he wanted daily updates on this trial planting or that from his daughter while in the White House.
Madison had a perfect little demonstration slave "village" a la Marie Antoinette to show how well he treated them, yet most of his slaves lived somewhere else on the plantation. He also promised to free many of his slaves on his death, yet Dolly, his wife, held onto them for all they were worth at long after his death.
Adams, oh Adams was a man before his time and abhorred slavery which is probably a good thing since most of his land in Quincy couldn't have supported full-scale agriculture like the South could.He also passed along his dislike of slavery to his son who was also a man before his time on the issue but hung in with the fight as long as he could.
Overall, the founding father's botanical wonder and fascination was something I could relate to if I set aside the whole slavery and leading the country stuff. Often history books paint them as doing ministerial things while visiting Europe and it was pleasing to hear that most had guidebooks to notable gardens and took tours to see what they could bring back to their own gardens. What was funny was that many of the species they came across in these gardens originated in the New World.
Good book for the history and garden lover. Tough to hear about the attitudes about slavery.
aunt_t's review against another edition
4.0
Intriguing and thought-provoking look at the founding fathers of the US. If you are at all into gardening, you'll enjoy this book.
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