Callender Nature

Miracle from the earth

By: David C. Callender

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Paperback | 13 February 2023 | Edition Number 3

At a Glance

Paperback
82 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.01 x 14.81 x 0.56

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I have no idea what started me on this book. But I'm glad I did and hope you will be too.

It's true that I'd been walking on grass and seeing it and touching it just about every day of my life. But I had just never thought about it - about how it is everywhere, grows back whatever you do, delights us - even in a way holds our beautiful planet together, a foundation for nature and art and humanity.

Once started I couldn't stop. Grass, that humble weed, is amazing.

Even it's evolution is fascinating - not 'simple' at all as I'd thought - and covers hundreds of different species, including (could you have guessed?) bamboo and sugarcane, and we couldn't live or feed ourselves without it. And then there is all the art and symbolism and poetry around grass in the imagination of our thoughts.

Where could it have come from, this miraculous part of earthly life? We may never learn the answer to that mystery, but at least we can track some of its adventures.

This volume aims to give some kind of introduction to the many many dimensions of this miraculous weed of ours. For this reason, none of the accounts can go very deep and many aspects remain to be uncovered (it left to you, if you so wish, to winkle out further information from the many sources listed at the end and elsewhere).

Despite its introductory nature however I hope that you enjoy reading this story as much as we have both enjoyed discovering it.

Industry Reviews

When I think of grass, I think of parks, pasture and football pitches. I don't think of rice fields, bamboo or sugarcane. I don't think of clothing, furniture or beer. This book has opened my eyes to a new way of looking at grass.

An extraordinary family of more than 10,000 grass species, it can be traced back some 50 million years. It is a family found in rain forests, deserts and mountains, from the Antarctic to the Sahara. It is a family on which most of the world's population depends for a major portion of its diet: some 70% of agricultural crops are grasses.

In an easy-to-read, well-informed style, David Campbell Callender introduces the reader to the world of grass, and its uses from agriculture to medicine, cooking to construction; its association with mythology, symbolism and the arts; its importance to our wellbeing and well just so much more.

After reading this book, I am quite sure that next time you eat a bucket of popcorn, or chop up a piece of lemon grass for a Thai curry, you will stop just for a moment and contemplate on one of the most extraordinary plant families on the planet - and the significance of the colour green. I know I will.

Hilary Macmillan

Consultant Head of Communications

Vincent Wildlife Trust

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