An excellent read for the beginner gardener who wants to understand the science of gardening without getting bogged down in formulae and graphs.

This neat little book will bring peace of mind from worries about weeds, pests and pruning for all those anxious gardeners who'd rather be up at the allotment than down on the beach.

Good popular science books for gardeners do not come along every day. Those that are also easy to read, witty and do not insult the intelligence of readers are rarer still. So I can't recommend too highly An Ear to the Ground by Ken Thompson, which gives up-to-the-minute answers to all those questions that nag at you when you are bottom-up in a flower border or floating off to sleep at night. Its style - forthright, breezy and authoritative - is most appealing. Thompson politely, but firmly, puts the boot in. It is about time someone told it how it really is.

This is the book we've been waiting for.

An entertaining guide to the biology behind green tomatoes and red cabbage, brambles' peculiar sex lives and why not to be afraid of Latin, it is learned and authoritative without blinding with science.

This amusing and very useful book is a must for any gardener, whether highly knowledgeable or rank amateur.

Refreshingly down-to-earth guide

A gem of a book

An essential gardening book:Ken Thompson's book should be on every gardener's bookshelf. It is a well-written, easy to read publication with a nice touch of humour. Ken Thompson makes gardening science easy without trivialising it - and, throughout, there are useful practical tips. As a professional gardener, I highly recommend this book.

A delightful read: A lovely diversion from the dumbed down style of gardening you see on TV, this small book runs through the science background of gardening without coming over at all too technical.
I was slightly disappointed with the chapter on Latin names, but the rest of the book was just packed with interesting facts and anecdotes.
If you're interested in how your garden works then you'll enjoy and be informed by this book.

A fascinating trawl through the borderland where science and society intertwine

The Price of Altruism puts Price's work into a wide scientific and social context, showing real insight into its importance and genuine sympathy for the tale of his life

Oren Harman's outstanding new biography of the American scientist George Price makes the case that Price's theoretical contributions to biology are among the most important of the twentieth century...Price was undoubtedly an opaque figure; Harman has approached his life with sensitivity and intelligence, providing a clearer window into this troubled mind

Moving biography exploring a geneticst's understanding of human selflessness

An energetic tale that presents not only the science but the history and politics which produced it