Catherine Kleier

The author does a great job giving an overview of basic botany. I do think some science and chemistry background may be necessary in understanding this course. I would have enjoyed this book as a teenager or in my twenties, but I didn't enjoy it so much at my current stage of life.

My first complaint is that the author focuses on how plants are used in industry, rather than how plants fit into living communities (ecosystems). She is obviously enthused about the topic, but I find it very disturbing when she sounds happy, or even jokes, about obvious horrible events. I can't find ecocide to be a topic worthy of enthusiasm. I wish she had a range of emotions to her voice. I suspect she has become desensitized to the damage civilization has done to the world. College and science does have a way of desensitizing us humans to the pains and losses of non-humans.

In the end, this book made me lose interest in botany. I love plants! But I don't want to become desensitized to the living qualities of plants and will look elsewhere for studying plants further. Perhaps plant ecology is a better area of learning for me.

My biggest complain is the last lecture. She claims that Roundup has no harmful effects on humans. This is not shown to be true. If it were true, why is it required to where protective respiratory gear when handling the material in bulk quantities? At best, the truth is that there are conflicting studies as to the health effects of Roundup. In some studies, Roundup has been shown to cause fluid in the lungs and breathing difficulties. It stays in the environment for over a year. It damages important gut bacteria and is suspected of causing cancer and other serious health issues with long-term exposure. It is bad science to ignore one half of the data. And at least half the studies show that Roundup is extremely toxic to both human and planetary health.… (meer)