cover image Second Nature: A Gardener’sEducation

Second Nature: A Gardener’sEducation

Michael Pollan, read by the author, Brilliance Audio, unabridged, eight CDs, 9 hours, $24.99 ISBN 978-1-4418-3455-3

Despite some overheated prose, Pollan’s 2003 book on his many years gardening proves to be an enjoyable and instructive listen. The account moves seamlessly from the humble and personal—the minor and major decisions Pollan must make for his garden each season—to a larger inquiry of gardening through historical, philosophical, environmental, and practical lenses. Pollan’s soft and slightly nasal voice is rhythmic and engaging, but Scott Brick, who narrated The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, would have been a better choice. Pollan can’t match Brick’s ability to marshal information and move an audience, and this one consequently lacks the impact and nuance of his previous audiobooks. A Grove Press paperback. (Mar.)