The Founding Gardeners: How the Revolutionary Generation created an American Eden - Hardcover

Wulf, Andrea

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0434019100 ISBN 13: 9780434019106

Publisher: William Heinemann, 2011

Synopsis

'A history book for gardeners; a gardening book for historians'

* A follow-up to the award-winning Andrea Wulf's critically acclaimed history of British gardening, this is the story of how George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison's passion for nature, plants, agriculture and gardens shaped the birth of America.

* In the aftermath of the Declaration of Independence and the revolutionary war, these four men turned to America's landscape and plants, and their own stunning grounds, to make the republic truly independent. The self-sufficient farmer became the footsoldier of the young nation and the embodiment of liberty; nature was a unifying force, giving the thirteen states a national identity that still resonates today,the embodiment of a nation that had freed itself from the shackles of tyranny. And their shared love of flowers, plants and botany brought them together when political rivalries threatened to splinter them.

* Through a series of vignettes spanning the Declaration of Independence to the death of Adams and Jefferson exactly 50 years to the day afterwards - stories that weave the political, the personal and the botanical and are in turns funny, fascinating and moving - The Founding Gardeners shows is that it is impossible to understand these visionary men and the American nation without considering their love of gardening.

About this title

Product Description:

The Founding Gardeners Tells the story of how George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison's passion for nature, plants, agriculture and gardens shaped the birth of America. This title shows that it is impossible to understand these visionary men and the American nation without considering their love of gardening.

Review:

"SUPERB...this book will fascinate anyone interested in gardening, agriculture or American history." (Mail on Sunday)

"EXCELLENT... Wulf writes enthrallingly. Wonderfully illuminating and readable" (Daily Telegraph)

"ENGROSSING... excellent ... fascinating... a timely and passionate book" (Guardian)

"WONDERFULLY ENGAGING... Her knack for description is marvelous" (TLS)

"A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT... Excellent [and] riveting" (Country Life)

About this edition

• Publisher: William Heinemann
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0434019100
• ISBN 13: 9780434019106
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384