Greener Than You Think [Paperback]

Ward Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2008

Ward Moore's classic novel "Greener Than You Think" posits a world with Bermuda grass running out of control -- choking out every other plant and destroying the food supply of animals and humanity alike. Originally published in 1947.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434462285
• ISBN-13: 978-1434462282
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,407,252 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The grass begins to grow uncontrollably..., January 16, 2005

By 

T. bailey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greener Than You Think (Classics of Modern Science Fiction, Vol. 10) (Hardcover)

"--Little did Mrs. Dinkman know that when a somewhat less than scrupulous salesman sprayed her dying suburban Los Angeles lawn with a dose of the Metamorphizer she was witnessing the beginning of the end of the world. That salesman was Albert Weener, a two-bit huckster looking for instant riches, who had cajoled the remarkable new plant nutrient away from its recalcitrant inventor, botanist Josephine Spencer Francis. The only problem was, Miss Francis did not yet know how to neutralize her magic chemical--"

"Written in 1947, a science fiction novel about the grass we tread upon. When an unscrupulous salesman sprays a dying suburban Los Angeles lawn with an untested chemical spray, it is the beginning of the end of the world. The grass begins to grow uncontrollably and riotously, ten feet height, thick, tough, impenetrable, gradually engulfing Los Angeles, then California...After reading this novel, you will never view your lawn in the same way."

"The story is told with a satirical lilt, with a defini te bias for farce characterizations and situations; brightening what would otherwise be a harrowing tale."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greener Than You Think, November 20, 2003

By 

Christopher Campbell (Willington, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greener Than You Think (Classics of Modern Science Fiction, Vol. 10) (Hardcover)

I encountered this book by chance at a used book store in 1980.
I read it then and wrote on the inside cover "Undoubtedly my favorite book of all!" All these years later, now being 2003,
I thought to myself "I wonder if it's still in print?"
Well, I see I can get it used and I want to buy one and send it along to director Tim Burton and tell him to make this into a movie!
I laugh aloud at the events in the story. Moore's subtle use of language brings new meaning to the word stealth. His characters come to life effortlessly and satisfyingly. Our hapless everyman protagonist, Albert Weener, hasn't a clue as to how the world around him perceives him and moves forward to the beat of his own drummer. All the while, the world's very existence is threatened by a product of his own doing. As I reread this book twenty years later I still want to say it's my favorite.
Read it....it's a real gem!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Science Fiction Miracle Grow, June 7, 2002

By 

Joe Thorburn "Jose" (Greeley Colorado USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greener Than You Think (Classics of Modern Science Fiction, Vol. 10) (Hardcover)

Written soon after World War II, this book encapsulates many of that decade's turmoil and at the same time manages to project into the future to address some interesting contemporary ideas into a compact and delightful science fiction satire. Ward Moore's style of writing is clever and comical without veering from the main character's oddball mindset and vernacular. The mutant grass is a metaphor for good against evil, mankind against nature or nature against mankind, World War III, and precedes the writings of the environmental historians and of environmental ethics in philosophy. The book also touches on such issues as environmental determinism, evolution, and survival of the fittest, and too, looks at various biblical themes, among them, Adam and Eve (Eve being Miss Francis) and Noah's Ark. When you read it you will probably find your own list of cleverly placed themes and analogies.