For those who like a bit of fun with their education, I am delighted to report on a recently arrived book that melds very clever, lovely imagery with a remarkable collection of information on the history of botanical history: the Explorers’ Botanical Notebook: In the Footsteps of Theophrastus, Marco Polo, Linnaeus, Flinders, Darwin, Speke and Hooker from Firefly Books.
Written in French by Florence Thinard and translated into English by Barb Collishaw, and featuring photographs – including the brilliant cover designed to be the very likeness of a traditional plant press – by Yannick Fourié, this treasure-box of natural history includes chapters describing the lives, explorations, and discoveries of over eighty pioneering botanists.
