Brilliant Green Audiobook By Stefano Mancuso, Alessandra Viola, Michael Pollan - foreword, Joan Benham - translator cover art

Brilliant Green

The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence

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Brilliant Green

By: Stefano Mancuso, Alessandra Viola, Michael Pollan - foreword, Joan Benham - translator
Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
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Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? Or are they passive, incapable of independent action or social behavior? Philosophers and scientists have pondered these questions since ancient Greece, most often concluding that plants are unthinking and inert: they are too silent, too sedentary - just too different from us. Yet discoveries over the past 50 years have challenged these ideas, shedding new light on the extraordinary capabilities and complex interior lives of plants.

In Brilliant Green, Stefano Mancuso, a leading scientist and founder of the field of plant neurobiology, presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. Combining a historical perspective with the latest in plant science, Mancuso argues that, due to cultural prejudices and human arrogance, we continue to underestimate plants. In fact, they process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one another-showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware.

Through a survey of plant capabilities from sight and touch to communication, Mancuso challenges our notion of intelligence, presenting a vision of plant life that is more sophisticated than most imagine.

©2013 Giunti Editore S.P.A. Firenze-Milano; English edition copyright 2015 by Island Press; Translation copyright 2015 by Joan Benham; Foreword copyright 2015 by Michael Pollan (P)2020 Tantor Anatomy & Physiology Biological Sciences Botany & Plants Environment Outdoors & Nature Science Thought-Provoking Brilliant Green
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Listened to Brilliant Green after the stellar The Incredible Journey of Plants. Well worth the listen.

Mancuso's second best

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I really enjoyed this book - maybe you will too! It is curiosity’s boon in the human mind/heart that created the art and practice of science initially and it is this scientist and author who keeps the true act of inquisitiveness alive without falling back on our human centered beliefs. He gives a breath of fresh air to the thoughts & feelings one can have about green life on this planet. Thank you Stefano Mancuso!

Info we all need to know - we are not the true pinnacle of earth!

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Loved it. But dispute one thing about plant not taking care of family. Trees will take care of each other and their offspring

Plants have 15 senses

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many years, 50, I have been a simple gardener, from mostly growing food for the family, with some use of companion planting, until 3 yrs ago a large increase in growing pollinators. Then I read Finding the Mother Tree and now Brilliant Green. I consider Brilliant Green to be of major importance. It is a great learning experience, historically, scientifically, and for our present and future.

a simple gardener

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... who wants to avoid a pablum of introductory mish mash. This material is hearty and well served to the intelligent reader. At about 5 hours of listening time, it's just enough to wet a curious appetite without drowning in details. This is one I will read again.

For the Novice ...

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Like: good presentation of what amounts to plant intelligence
Disliked: concluding remarks regarding “plant rights” was naive and absurd. Fortunately, only a tiny part of book.

Very enlightening

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I enjoyed this book so much I read it in 1 shift at work (via Audible! I’m lucky enough to be allowed to read via audio at work rn)

Lovely book, well read via Audible and enjoyable ! Love the unique outlook and info !! Would love to read more by this author!

I’d like to read more like this! Unfortunately, I can see a lot of people taking offense to thinking about plants in this way! Hilarious but true.

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