In 1837; while charting the Amazonian country of Guiana for Great Britain; German naturalist Robert Schomburgk discovered an astounding "vegetable wonder"--a huge water lily whose leaves were five or six feet across and whose flowers were dazzlingly white. In England; a horticultural nation with a mania for gardens and flowers; news of the discovery sparked a race to bring a live specimen back; and to bring it to bloom. In this extraordinary plant; named Victoria regia for the newly crowned queen; the flower-obsessed British had found their beau ideal.In The Flower of Empire; Tatiana Holway tells the story of this magnificent lily; revealing how it touched nearly every aspect of Victorian life; art; and culture. Holways colorful narrative captures the sensation stirred by Victoria regia in England; particularly the intense race among prominent Britons to be the first to coax the flower to bloom. We meet the great botanists of the age; from the legendary Sir Joseph Banks; to Sir William Jackson Hooker; director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew; to the extravagant flower collector the Duke of Devonshire. Perhaps most important was the Dukes remarkable gardener; Joseph Paxton; who rose from garden boy to knight; and whose design of a series of ever-more astonishing glass-houses--one; the Big Stove; had a footprint the size of Grand Central Station--culminated in his design of the architectural wonder of the age; the Crystal Palace. Fittingly; Paxton based his design on a glass-house he had recently built to house Victoria regia. Indeed; the natural ribbing of the lilys leaf inspired the pattern of girders supporting the massive iron-and-glass building.From alligator-laden jungle ponds to the heights of Victorian society; The Flower of Empire unfolds the marvelous odyssey of this wonder of nature in a revealing work of cultural history.
#1022070 in eBooks 2012-06-05 2012-06-05File Name: B00BGMS2WE
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Tells the truth about the American dreamBy HHAny thoughtful; bookish American who hasnt read "Death of a Salesman" has done himself or herself a cultural disservice of the first order. While there are many things that make "Death of a Salesman" one of the greatest plays of the 20th century; to this reviewers mind the plays many themes are the key. One of the plays main themes is reality vs. illusion. "Death of a Salesman" makes frequent use of flashbacks to present Willyrsquo;s memory during the reality. The illusion not only suggests the past; but also presents the lost pastoral life. Willy has dreamed of success his whole life and makes up lies about his and Biffrsquo;s success. The more he indulges in the illusion; the harder it is for him to face reality. Biff is the only one who realizes that the whole family lived in the lies and tries to face the truth. The American Dream is the other main theme of the play; but everyone in the play has their own way to describe their American Dreams; Biff especially. Willy dreams of being a successful salesman like Dave Singleton; somebody who has both wealth and freedom. Willy believes that the key to success is being well-liked; and his frequent flashbacks show that he measures happiness in terms of wealth and popularity. Society tries to teach that if people are rich and well-liked; they will be happy. Because of this; Willy thought that money would make him happy. He never bothered to try to be happy with what he has. Willy also believes that to attain success; one must have a good personality. He believes that salesmanship is based on lsquo;sterling traits of characterrsquo; and lsquo;a pleasing personality.rsquo; But Willy does not have the requisite sterling traits of character; people simply do not like him as much as he thinks is necessary for success.Uncle Ben represents the ideal of American Dream. He thinks that the American Dream is to catch opportunity; to conquer nature; and to gain a fortune. He says ldquo;Why; boys; when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle; and when I was twenty-one I walked out. (He laughs.) And by God I was rich.rdquo; Ben symbolizes another kind of successful American Dreams for Willy. After seeing his fatherrsquo;s real identity; Biff does not follow his fatherrsquo;s ldquo;dreamrdquo; because he knows that Willy does see his future but in a blind way. Meaning that he can and cannot see at the same time; since his way of seeing or visualizing the future is completely wrong. Biff has a dream to get outside; to farm; and work hard with his own hands; but his father prevents him from pursuing his dream. Biff realizes his fatherrsquo;s dream is ldquo;wrongrdquo; during his fathers funeral.Another thing that is apparent from the "Death of a Salesman" is the hard work and dedication of Charley and Bernard. Willy criticizes Charley and Bernard throughout the play; but it is not because he hates them. Rather; it appears that Willy is jealous of the successes theyve enjoyed; which is outside his standards. The models of business success provided in the play all argue against Willyrsquo;s "personality theory." One is Charley; Willyrsquo;s neighbor and apparently only friend. Charley has no time for Willyrsquo;s theories of business; but he provides for his family and is in a position to offer Willy a do-nothing job to keep him bringing home a salary."Death of a Salesman" will especially hit home with male readers who feel they had a difficult time in life pleasing their fathers. In this connection; I recommend that readers of "Death" watch the spectacular 1985 film version starring Dustin Hoffman as Willy and John Malkovich as Biff. Hoffman and Malkovich perfectly portray the sadness of failed hope of a father for his son and failed love of a son for his father.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Two StarsBy Tina MartinI couldnt get it to unload on my computer; so Ive never had the chance to hear it!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Confusingly goodBy kclemThroughout the book I was mostly confused; but I think that was intentional; I think the book was intending for the viewer to be confused like Willy was with his hallucinations. In any case when parts clicked together I couldnt help but stand up in shock and realization. It was a pretty good book.