Weeds: The Story of Outlaw Plants

Ever since the first settlements 10,000 years ago, weeds have been with us. They are the punishment of 'thorns and thistles' in Genesis and a symbol of Flanders Field. They are civilisations' familiars, invading farmland and building-sites, war-zones and flower-beds, yet they were also the first crops and medicines. Weaving together the insights of botanists, gardeners, artists and poets with his own life-long fascination, Richard Mabey examines how we have tried to define them, explain their persistence, and draw moral lessons from them.