'This is a gardening book that takes readers not on a walk around great estates but on a tour of great minds ... It's a lovely extension on the notion that gardens make you contemplative and in working with the soil you see life's big picture.'
* The Daily Telegraph *
'Erudite, yet witty and accessible, [Philosophy in the Garden] is intellectual history at its most completely pleasurable.'
* Oliver Burkeman, author of
The Antidote *
'[S]prightly and stimulating.'
* The Spectator *
'Like a garden coming into spring ... tremendous vistas of thought.'
* The Daily Telegraph *
'A gentle dig for ideas about how to live - this book will grow your mind and put a glow in your cheeks.'
* Deborah Levy, author of
Swimming Home *
'A brilliant philosophical and literary meditation that helps us rethink our relationship with the natural world - and with ourselves.'
* Roman Krznaric, author of
Empathy *
'Young writes with a delightful combination of humour and insight.'
* The Literary Review *
'[T]hought-provoking ... fine book.'
* Gardens Illustrated *
'[T]hought provoking indeed.'
* The Good Book Guide *
'I've been looking forward to Damon Young's [Philosophy in the Garden] ... all year. Part philosophy lesson, part literary companion, it's a contemplative stroll through writers' relationships with their gardens.'
* Charlotte Wood, author of
Animal People *
'I found it utterly engaging and most illuminating. His style is very readable and full of wit and personality.'
* Kate Forsyth, author of
The Wild Girl *
'This beautiful looking book is a wonderfully refreshing mix of literary gossip, historical exposition and philosophical reflection, and I never wanted it to end.'
-- Walter Mason, author of
Destination Saigon'Young is an engaging writer. His technique is fluent and stylish and never marred by cliches or cliched thinking. He is sincere, a great relief from the ocean of irony in which we live, and intellectually questing, a relief from that other ocean of schmaltzy platitude.'
* The Australian *
'Reading this book is like strolling in a luxuriant garden with an erudite friend, although one of a literary rather than horticultural bent ... Think of this engaging little book ... as a philosophical primer, an approachable introduction to ideas about gardens and the natural world.'
* The Age *
'[Philosophy in the Garden] is a stimulating read where individual truths may well bloom ... [T]his volume is packed with brilliant literary info.'
* The West Australian *
'[M]ore my kind of 'gardening' than the digging type ... Particularly interesting is his account of Jane Austen's creative relationship with her Hampshire gardens.'
* The Lady *
'Young helps readers reflect on the value of the garden beyond a place to hold a backyard barbecue ... [He] writes engagingly, showing off his skills as a storyteller ... [A]n intriguing little book.'
* Weekly Times *
'[T]ake the plunge: the writing is fresh, the observations discursive, and the garden ... placed front and centre.'
* Australian Garden History *
'[T]houghtful and highly entertaining.'
* Limelight *
'Young has managed the difficult task of creating an academically rigorous work while maintaining a light and engaging tone throughout the book, which is actually a highly intellectual look at the complex relationship between humanity and nature.'
* Voice *
'[W]ith his vivid, critical, and, sometimes loving, attention to detail, he brings to new life writers and philosophers that anyone with a liberal arts education thought they already knew ... Young's enthusiasm, compassion, and moments of personal insight are infectious.'
* Island *
'An absolute joy of a book - I couldn't put it down. Its prose is as careful and lovely as a beautifully tended garden.'
-- Nikki Gemmell, columnist for
The Australian and author of
Honestly'[A] fascinating journey through the lives and creativity of writers ... It is an intimate, charming book.'
* Sensibilities: The Journal of the Jane Austen Society of Australia *
'[L]ucid and entertaining ... an enjoyable and erudite addition to a burgeoning literature.'
-- David E. Cooper * Los Angeles Review of Books *
'[F]or readers drawn to learning about the millennia-old tradition of teaching, writing, and thinking in the outdoors, this pithy offering will more than satisfy.'
* Publishers Weekly *
