The after-dinner gardening book, [Hardcover]

Richard W Langer (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 198 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan; First Edition edition (1969)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0006CK5C0
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,027,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and helpful, June 1, 2004

By 

"mstwiga" (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The After-Dinner Gardening Book (Paperback)

What a fun book! Informative too. I couldn't put it down, and have since grown my *own* avocado plant with my toddler (we named ours Audrey). The stories associated with the author's experience with each plant are funny, sometimes hysterically so. My favorite was the image of him standing on a ladder forcefully throwing coconuts into a bathtub filled with saltwater to simulate coconuts falling out of a tree into the ocean. Don't worry, after describing how he experiments, he tells you the easier shortcuts (a ladder wouldn't fit into my bathroom anyway). Reading it makes you want to immediately buy and eat the exotic fruits he describes just for the seeds and the fun of trying to grow them (inside, my favorite place - no bugs, controlled climate, etc.). My only complaint is that the fruits are indeed largely exotic. The fruits in the book include mango, Chinese gooseberry, prickly pear, sugarcane, and pomegranate. I was hoping for some plain orange, lemon, or apple seed hints as well. Maybe other people are better at growing such ordinary plants, or at least less intimidated than me, but I loved having the plant-specific instructions that maximize the chances of success. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book, especially for those who would like to have a green thumb but just don't quite (like me) or for those who just like funny stories. Here's hoping for a sequel, even after all this time! :-)

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A How-to Novel!, July 9, 2002

By 

L. Pazzaglia "virtualitalia" (San Mateo, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The After-Dinner Gardening Book (Paperback)

When cleaning out my mother's book case this little book grabbed me with it's cover and title. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down! It's so entertaining and engrossing -- from the author's reactions from his wife to his obsessive search for a more exotic seed to plant -- this book reels you in. The author's quest and passion are infectuos. I find myself examining fruit salads at dinner parties and asking my shoked host "Did you throw away the top of your pineapple? You know, it can grow into it's own plant!" I can't imagine that a book similar to this would exist nor what it's genre would be called... but if it's found please let me know!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Find this book!, November 1, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The After-Dinner Gardening Book (Paperback)

This book is an absolute hoot! Everyone is amazed that I can grow a grocery store pineapple and have it produce an actual pineapple. It is fun for the whole family and, if you follow the detailed instructions, you can successfully garden using food that you get from your grocer. It is well written and the instructions are easy to follow.