Posts

  The Incredible Journey of Plants by Stefano Mancuso Book review March 2021 The Incredible Journey of Plants is an offbeat book. But utterly engrossing and entertaining. It talks of the stories of plants which are unusual, some dated from the past, some sprouting after millennium, seeds buried under ice and snow, trees several thousand miles away surviving alone in a barren and unfriendly land and much more. Tales of trees spoken of as buccaneers! What beautiful tales each plant has to say. The books talks about pioneers among plants, the tenacity with which some of them travel to far places and take over the countryside or region by dispersion. He also goes into the history of each of the plants he examines, digging a bit into where they originated, how they spread. We don't have to be a student of Botany or Science to enjoy the extremely interesting material he puts forward. High recommend the book. The author's love of plants shines through. One wonders how he compiled such
The Anatomy of Hope by Jerome Groopman, M.D Book review The Anatomy of Hope is a book you won't put down once you pick it up. It is an account of the observations and experiences of Dr Jerome Groopman, M.D as he navigates his life as an oncologist, researcher and much more. He puts forward powerful arguments to emphasize that hope and a positive outlook in the patient are an important part of any medical cure. Among his experiences are many oncology cases, and how people fought cancer and lived through bravely. He also talks about people who ultimately did not succeed, but still maintained a brave face and outlook irrespective of their outcome and lived gracefully till the end. The observations he makes can be taken into account not just in medicine but for any challenges in life. He talks about his own experience with a back injury and how he had to hope once more to see an end to his pain. He also differentiates between true hope and false hope, and how doctors can aim to instil