The Curious Lives of Vegetables: An Artful Exploration of the Wonderful World of Edible Plants, Their History, and Their Crucial Role in Our Future by Francis, Ali

The Curious Lives of Vegetables: An Artful Exploration of the Wonderful World of Edible Plants, Their History, and Their Crucial Role in Our Future

Discover the secret lives of vegetables that have shaped our world, brought to life through over 100...
$36.00 USD
$36.00 USD
Please hurry! Only 66 left in stock
Author: Ali Francis
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $36.00
The Curious Lives of Vegetables: An Artful Exploration of the Wonderful World of Edible Plants, Their History, and Their Crucial Role in Our Future by Francis, Ali

The Curious Lives of Vegetables: An Artful Exploration of the Wonderful World of Edible Plants, Their History, and Their Crucial Role in Our Future

$36.00

The Curious Lives of Vegetables: An Artful Exploration of the Wonderful World of Edible Plants, Their History, and Their Crucial Role in Our Future

$36.00
Author: Ali Francis
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Discover the secret lives of vegetables that have shaped our world, brought to life through over 100 hauntingly beautiful botanical illustrations.

From the humble beet to the botanical curiosity of the tomato, The Curious Lives of Vegetables reveals the important, unusual, and downright fascinating stories behind the plants that nourish us.

Food journalist and former Bon Appétit staff writer Ali Francis blends cultural history, science, and narrative storytelling to spotlight rare, heirloom, and overlooked vegetables as a way of telling bigger stories--about biodiversity, flavor, memory, and the invisible forces that determine what ends up on our plates. Each illuminating essay is paired with a sublime illustration, reminiscent of antique botanical art, by celebrated artist Adriana Picker.

  • In-Depth Resource: Follow the circuitous, sometimes charming, often heartbreaking, and always utterly fascinating lives of over 125 vegetables, with profiles of modern botanists, essays, approachable histories and more.
  • Stunning Object: Featuring a dramatic sprayed edge and striking silver foil that shines as brightly as the portraits of the edible gems described inside its covers.
  • Perfect Gift: Gardeners, vegetable lovers, nature enthusiasts, and admirers of botanical art will delight in this gorgeous book.
More than a visual feast, this is an invitation to see carrots, onions, broccoli, and dozens of other plants with fresh wonder. Perfect for gardeners, plant lovers, and anyone drawn to the intersection of art and nature, this book unearths the hidden histories, surprising science, and cultural significance of vegetables we thought we knew.

Author: Ali Francis
Publisher: Hardie Grant Books
Published: 09/15/2026
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.90lbs
Size: 9.01h x 7.11w x 0.91d
ISBN: 9781964786322

About the Author
Ali Francis is a Utah-based journalist known for her insightful explorations of food culture and sustainability. Her work regularly appears in Bon Appétit, The Cut/NY Mag, The Atlantic, Wired, the BBC, The Guardian, and Vogue.

Adriana Picker is a Sydney-based botanical artist and author of the illustrated nonfiction works Petal, Blossom, and The Cocktail Garden. She has collaborated with Vogue, Disney, Netflix, The Washington Post, Planned Parenthood NYC, Veuve Clicquot, Absolut Vodka, and more.

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