Botanist Thompson spent his life investigating the mysteries of plant propagation. In this, his final book, he follows the rise of villages, cities and civilizations as a result of the discovery of plant cultivation. While the step from gathering wild plants to farming was essential, Thompson is most interested in the discoveries of the past three hundred years, beginning with the astounding fact that plants have sex. He chronicles the adventures of the scientists (including himself) who traveled the world hunting for new strains of plants in the attempt to produce food that was abundant and disease resistant. He also explains how this backfired as humanity became reliant on a smaller pool of seed types. One response to this has been the international seed bank, a project Thompson was passionate about, that preserves all known strains of seeds, especially grain. Botanists today are working with the seed bank to develop new plants that can adapt to our changing climate. Thompson tells the story well, making it full of information, humor and drama. Ultimately, it also provides hope for survival despite our many mistakes made since we began putting seeds in the ground to grow our own food. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)