scijessreads

If you are interested in strange histories, odd plants, people behaving badly, and cool science facts, this is a great book for you. It is full of beautiful illustrations, sharp writing that keeps the information interesting without getting bogged down in too much technical language, and stories of how not every plant plays nice with others.

I did wish that there was a bit more organization in the presentation of the plants and poisons. It seemed a bit random, without a throughline to tie everything together into a cohesive narrative. Even a compendium like this can have a narrative thread, and I think that would have helped highlight some of the families of poisonous plants even more (or plants with similar toxins or methods of toxin delivery). A few details about how the immune system responds to some toxins were a bit muddled as well (speaking as an immunologist by trade).

Overall, this was an interesting collection of deadly fauna. It is presented in easy-to-read language with just enough humor to keep it fun, making it accessible to a wide audience. This would make for a fun coffee table book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own. Publication date is October 22nd.