The Seed Detective

Uncovering the Secret Histories of Remarkable Vegetables

By: Adam Alexander, Tim Lang - foreword

Narrated by: Calum Beaton

Have you ever wondered how peas, kale, asparagus, beans, squash, and corn have ended up on our plates? Well, Adam Alexander has.

Adam Alexander is The Seed Detective. His passion for vegetables was ignited when he tasted an unusual sweet pepper with a fiery heart while on a filmmaking project in Ukraine. Smitten by its flavor, Adam began to seek out local growers of endangered heritage and heirloom varieties in a mission to bring home seeds to grow, share, and return so that he could enjoy their delicious taste—and save them from being lost forever.

In The Seed Detective, Adam shares his own stories of seed hunting, with the origin stories behind many of our everyday food heroes. Taking us on a journey that began when we left the life of the hunter-gatherer to become farmers, he tells tales of globalization, political intrigue, colonization, and serendipity—describing how these vegetables and their travels have become embedded in our food cultures.

©2022 Adam Alexander (P)2023 Chelsea Green

So well written and informative!

I loved the book! Well written and so much information! Only wish there was a list at the end of his favorite vegetables since I was listening and didn't always have an opportunity to write things down. Highly recommend to anyone who loves gardening/farming.

Too Academic

This book needed more story and less recitation of which expert did long-ago work. Never really explained why much of this mattered today, other than the umbrella statement that modern ag comes at the cost of food diversity. Maybe this belongs at a university press. Sorry

Engaging read

The story of our relationship with vegetables told on a huge historical canvas. Well done.

The author's enthusiasm

This was a very good presentation of a complex subject. The author's enthusiasm and appreciation for food and growing food is infectious.

Fascinating for any gardener!

I was certain I would find this book enjoyable and would learn a great deal. I would go as far as to say it far exceeded any expectations!

Informative and fascinating

Such a good listen! It got me simultaneously relaxed in the evening and excited me to plan my for the next season garden.

the history

I almost believed the narrator was the author as he spoke so eloquently about the subject matter. I loved the history of indigenous plants and I want to go and grow only the original foods our bodies were meant to have.

Fascinating and relevant

This book was interesting and well-narrated, and the message is very very important. Big Agro has hijacked our right and ability to grow nutritious food, for their own profit. We know that processed food is killing us—where does all their profit go? Why are there no consequences for this exploitation?

Seeds of our future!

As a chef with considerable respect and study of the world’s foods, farmers and gardeners, I found this intriguing and the finest work on the subject to date. Highly recommended to anyone who appreciates ingredients of great taste; especially chefs, gardeners and insightful farmers.
The work was particularly well written (with incredible passion) and performed. It goes into enough detail to satisfy the scientifically minded with enough information to aid in further study - but not so much to put off the casual reader.
Be sure to read through to the end, even if you just skim parts that interest you less; the implications could affect our entire (bulk) food system and suggests that home gardeners could positively affect our future as a species.

Delightful!

Mr Alexander’s thoughtful seed collecting and preserving is as delightful as the stories which accompany his favorite seed acquisitions.

Mr Beaton’s narration is absolutely perfect for the audio book. I look forward to listening again to pickup spots I may have missed.

A sweet and delicious journey on all accounts.