Second Nature: A Gardener's Education Audiobook (Unabridged)

" What I learned from this book is that it's possible to find gardening interesting, to fantasize about gardening, and yet not actually be a gardener. "

" I really enjoyed Pollen's storytelling in this book. At times, it got boring, and at times, pretty self-absorbed (and pretty while male-absorbed). But there was something I liked from each chapter. And I'm sold on his general theme of using "gardening" as a more appropriate metaphor for humans' relationship to nature (and to each other) - well argued. "

" Extremely thought provoking. "

" If I can't garden, I might as well read about gardening. Pollan's ideas about gardening, and our relationship with nature gave me a new perspective on environmentalism. "

" Snore. If you are an avid gardener you may like this, but for the novice like me it's easy to really zone out sometimes listening to it on mp3. He gets a little too philosophical/romantic about things that I really don't find entire-chapter-worthy. There were tidbits of worthy information I gleaned but not enough to justify working through the entire text. "

" I love the narrative of then and now gardening and I learned why it is cultivating when you are weeding. "

" Great book even if you don't garden. "

" A gorgeous collection of essays about gardening, nature, and how humans interact with the landscape around them. Pollan is such a beautiful writer -- and surprisingly funny too. A read that inspires me to plant. "

" I really loved this book, the way you love really famous rock stars' early stuff, and feel like their new stuff is watered down and sold out. After I finished, and moved on to other lunchtime reading, I realized I missed reading this book. "

" like so much garden writing, far too heavy on the use of metaphor, but ideas are interesting. "

" The first half of this book is fantastic. In the second half, he gets inexplicably--excuse the pun--flowery. Took me two days to read the first half and three weeks to finish it up. "

" As with all of Michael Pollan's books I would highly recommend this!! It was my first nonfiction read (it wasn't available on audio) and I LOVED it!! He gives you some great things to consider such as what role humans should play in nature as well as some fun insights into his growth as a gardener. "

" Eh. I think he over simplifies ecology in this book. I should read more of him. "

" Funny, rueful, thought provoking. A great read for every gardener new or established. "

" One of my all-time favorite books "

" While I don't always agree with how he treats nature vs. garden, he is very thought-provoking about it. Made me want to spend more time in my garden, which is always a good thing in a garden book... "

" Pollan's upper class childhood in Long Island didn't resonate with me. I would have like to read more about the ecology of the neighborhood that he lived in-not how he used to fight with his grandfather and father about gardening "

" This is early Michael Pollan, when he was a struggling back yard gardener, and before he was a commentator on the industrialization of America's agricultural industries. I'd read his newer books first for a more enjoyable read. "

" I just couldn't get into this. Maybe it was just me at the time. I will ry it again later. "

" This was a really interesting book about the American relationship with the yard & the lawn & the garden. He is a very good writer, very personable. "

" I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't surprised because I have enjoyed all of the books that I have ready by Michael Pollan, but this one was particularly apt since I read it while I was planting and caring for my first garden. "

" This is a very nice consideration of man's relationship with plants, both wild and domesticated. His relationship with his own garden is that of a man who can afford to pay other people to do the heavy lifting. "

" This is definitely a more raw example of Pollan's writing. Not as easy to read and polished as his later novels, but interesting nevertheless. This book discusses the growing of food - the successes and the failures - rather than the politics of food which he discusses in his later novels. "

" Excellent philosophy of gardening and relationships to the natural world. Worth looking at the sites of the catalogues in chapter 11. "

" Interesting read on the history of gardening and the author's personal gardening journey. Now I'm in the mood to get busy on my garden, "

" Interesting but not captivating. Pollan has come a long way ad a writer. "

" Interesting, but only a hint of his better works later. Some sections were really enlightening and thought-provoking. Others, eh. "

" I love the narrative of then and now gardening and I learned why it is cultivating when you are weeding. "

" A great book. It's a little bit history, little bit philosphy, and a lot of facts and musings about gardens and their place in nature. I had a hard time deciding whether to give it a 4 or 5. "

" I started Mr. Pollan's book at least 3 times before working my way through it. It was well written, funny, and a little to heavy on the technical fauna terminology, but that is okay. I am looking forward to reading his other books. "

" This was the first gardening narrative I ever read, and it got me hooked on Michael Pollan as well as this genre. Fantastic book. "

" A nice accompanying essay when starting your own garden. Pollan gives a nice voice to the frustrating battle against weeds. "

" This was a very poetic way to look at the garden and how we can take advantage of natural landscapes. "