Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities

Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities
by Amy Stewart
Published by Algonquin Books
May 21, 2009

I had high hopes for this books as I am always looking for different ways NOT to die in nature. As it would happen, while it was a pretty book to look at with great illustrations (by Briony Morrow-Cribbs), I don't think that it is a practical guide to dangerous plants. The illustrations, for example, wouldn't help me differentiate the plants if I were out on a nature walk. Nor were the stories as fun as I had hoped. Though Lincoln's mother was undoubtedly killed by a villainous weed, her antidotes were more passing remarks than intriguing stories.  That being said, I'm still happy to own this book as it was an easy read and could help with dinner conversation some day.

For: trivia lovers
Not for: gardeners, cooks (don't want to give them any ideas)

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Also on the reading list...

See today's NY Times review

THE MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF HIZBOLLAH WISHES YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East by Neil MacFarquhar

First Chapter

  
And the required reading list for school:

Bacevich, Andrew J. The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. Holt. 2008
 

Collier, Paul. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done about It. Oxford, 2007
 

Duelfer, Charles. Hide and Seek: The Search for Truth in Iraq. Public Affairs, 2009.
 

Evans, Gareth.The Responsibility to Protect: Ending Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and for All Brookings, 2008.
 

Keylor, William R. A World of Nations: The International Order since 1945. Oxford, 2nd Edition. June 2008
 

Khanna, Parag. The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New World Order. Random House 2008
 

Kilkullen, David. The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One. Oxford 2009

Truck: a love story

Truck: a love story
By Micheal Perry
Published by Harper Perennial
July 2007

Ever had a project you wanted to accomplish but lacked the tools or ability? Want to read a love story that has none of that gushy stuff? Read Truck: a love story by Michael Perry and you'll be more than satiated, not to mention laughing out loud every couple pages.

Perry is a journalist who has simple wants: to fix his truck, to not kill his garden and, though he may not have known it, to find a good woman. He is a man who takes pride in inventing the Unified Laundry System (just buy gray socks and wash everything together) and gets teary eyed at Funeral Blues by Auden (but then, who doesn't).

"Feel-good, laugh-out-loud read" and "A lovable love story"