Select delivery location
See All Buying Options
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Bill Laws
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History (Fifty Things That Changed the Course of History) by Bill Laws (2015-07-30) Paperback

by unknown author (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 243 ratings
See all formats and editions
Previous page
  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Firefly Books
  3. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01F9Q9IJ8
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 243 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Bill Laws

Bill Laws

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Bill Laws (www.billlaws.com)is the author of A History of the Garden in Fifty Tools, Fifty Railways that Changed the Course of History and Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, BBC, The Telegraph and The Guardian and is former editor of Britain's national magazine for Gypsies and Travellers, Travellers' Times. The author of more than 20 books, he is currently writing a history of World War One.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
243 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

K. Fairchild
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly, really good book
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2013
Verified Purchase
I wasn't expecting this to be a good book, but I realized this is one that is to be read cover to cover. The information about each plant (which is only a select few) is so fascinating that it's worth reading all the information about each one rather than skimming over the pages. There are a few photos and illustrations that accompany each plant, so it breaks up the text nicely.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
RenaeK
5.0 out of 5 stars good price
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
Bought the hard cover because at the time it was only about $.50 more than a soft cover. Very interesting info on a variety of plants.
Helpful
 Report
jlcrosby
4.0 out of 5 stars Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2013
Verified Purchase
The facts for each of the plants were interesting and informative. Though I did find it hard to read sometimes, going back and having to re-read a section a couple of times. I believe this was because the author was also defining words in the sentence as well as trying to give you the information. By the time you got done reading what the word meant you had to go back a reread to know that the sentence was original saying.

I will say again, that I found the information interesting, if not even intriguing. There were a couple of sections that I even marked pages, because I was so interested that I wanted to do further research into an area. There were some facts that I felt the author might have been grasping at straws. For example oranges being linked to malaria or coffee being linked to the Declaration of independence. But in the author defense, some of these facts could have been minor facts supporting or even in addition to the main connection to history.

Even with what I feel to be minor setbacks, I quite enjoyed reading this book. Finding the facts intriguing enough to reiterate them to my significant other when I came across something I found interesting. I am also letting/recommending this book to my step father who enjoys books like these. More than likely I will be rereading this book again, and adding it to me "keep books".
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
Great for dipping into rather than reading from cover to cover. Plenty of fascinating facts about plants, although whether they really changed history outside of other economic and political factors is debatable. Nontheless, a fun read.
Helpful
 Report
kdee
5.0 out of 5 stars Great info
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book is a wonderful review of many plants. Photos and drawings beautifully augment the reading. The book is not limited to North American plants, but includes many tropicals, like pineapple,coffee, coca, etc. A great history lesson!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars loved this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
I'm a botany nut and a history nut. I really enjoyed this book relating plants to history. I know ll the plants well, but learned much about the way they were used in the past.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Matthew Grissoni
5.0 out of 5 stars 50 plants that changed the couse of history
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
Love this book it is so interesting
Helpful
 Report
Marcia Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2012
Verified Purchase
A fun book for any gardener. Each chapter gives an excellent summary of each plant. The illustrations are excellent. Great gift for the price..
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Amazonian
5.0 out of 5 stars Un gran libro para amantes de la botánica
Reviewed in Mexico on April 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
Este libro tiene unas extraordinarias ilustraciones que te llevan a un viaje por las plantas históricas de nuestro planeta. Lo recomiendo como regalo para amantes de la botánica o la jardinería.
Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting and useful book ....
Reviewed in Canada on June 9, 2017
Verified Purchase
Very well researched and presented .. a very welcome addition to our family library .. Thanks to the author's painstaking effort ... appreciated ..
Report
Cliente Amazon
4.0 out of 5 stars biology curiosity
Reviewed in Spain on August 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
very interesting
Report
Rita Schaffer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a very easy to read, yet enjoyable book. I have only read a few pages thus far & yet I have found it fascinating to read that tequila comes from the Agave plant - not to mention so many other things. I had never even heard of agave. There are some lovely drawings and the book has an old world feel to it. A really lovely book to own.

It was packaged very cleverly in cardboard so that it arrived in pristine condition. Excellent work Amazon for recommending this book. Only one query: there is nil information in the book about the author. Who is Bill Laws?
Report
Leandro de Oliveira Almeida
1.0 out of 5 stars Factual erros/ Dados errados no livro
Reviewed in Brazil on June 8, 2022
Verified Purchase
I have spotted several factual errors that make me wonder how well researched and reliable the rest of the book is.
Eu encontrei alguns dados errados no livro (fatos empíricos errados e não interpretação errada), que me fazem pensar o quão bem feito e qualificado é o restante do livro.
Report