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Hinterhof-Giganten: Die leidenschaftliche, herzzerreißende und glorreiche Suche nach Wachstum...-
by Warren, Susan | HC | LikeNew
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eBay-Artikelnr.:146388543585
Artikelmerkmale
- Artikelzustand
- Neuwertig
- Hinweise des Verkäufers
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Weight
- 1 lbs
- Product Group
- Book
- IsTextBook
- No
- ISBN
- 9781596912786
Über dieses Produkt
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN-10
1596912782
ISBN-13
9781596912786
eBay Product ID (ePID)
59076278
Product Key Features
Book Title
Backyard Giants : the Passionate, Heartbreaking, and Glorious Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever
Number of Pages
256 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2007
Topic
Vegetables, General, Seasonal
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Gardening, Crafts & Hobbies
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
1.1 in
Item Weight
18.9 Oz
Item Length
9.8 in
Item Width
6.1 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Reviews
Full of triumph, suspense, and the humor of disappointment....[Warren] accomplishes what so few writers about science do--she makes clear and interesting the science behind the story., Thoroughly engaging....Warren peaks the anticipation with the big fall weigh-ins, lending a humorous, poignant touch to this hearty gardener's tale., Gardeners who spend their summers obsessed over the success of small-time crops like tomatoes and zucchini will get caught up in this tale of growing great pumpkins. Susan Warren's "Backyard Giants" (Bloomsbury, $24.95) serves up intimate portraits of folks who will risk everything to grow the biggest gourd on the block. This book is an entertaining caution for keeping it all in perspective., Praise for Backyard Giants: & "Strangely engrossing...Warren masterfully limns the subculture and the personalities of the fanatical growers, and the degree of peril is so high it is impossible not to get swept up in the suspenseful course of the season...Quirky and surprisingly affecting good fun--Ira Glass must be jealous." - Kirkus & "In a world of biggests, highests, fastests, and farthests -- of human obsessions that stretch the imagination -- it should come as no surprise that there are people who devote the better part of their lives to growing pumpkins as big as elephants. But while size certainly matters, Susan Warren's expertly reported, charmingly told tale is about much more than the hidden subculture of enormous fruit. Backyard Giants is about the inexplicable drives and complex emotions that make the world such a wondrous place.' -- Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players "Of all the whack-brained things people do in their back yards - the compulsive cultivation of grass, the feeding of carnivorous bears, and let us never forget lawn darts - this is one of the most thoroughly whack-brained. In hog-wallows of manure, fertilizer and pesticide, pumpkins the size of old sofas are coaxed and coddled like race horses. Grown men (and a few women) hover over their patches, guarding thevirginity of flowers with Ziploc bags, pruning vines with surgical angst, and arranging fans or woolen blankets on the swollen squash as the weather dictates. They lie awake in their beds listening for vandals and the sounds of growth-gone-mad as the gourds engorge themselves by 40, 50, 60 pounds in a night. A hairline split in the squash's stretching skin is all that's required to redirect a season's worth of toil to the compost pile. Those who shelter their pumpkins from overgrowth, bugs, woodchucks, fungus, hail, frost, sun, and all other natural phenomena, aim for world-record territory, currently a few hundred pounds shy of a Toyota Tercel or roughly equivalent to a holstein. Backyard Giants is a portrait of obsession, disturbing and wondrous." -- Hannah Holmes, author of Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn, Strangely engrossing...Warren masterfully limns the subculture and the personalities of the fanatical growers, and the degree of peril is so high it is impossible not to get swept up in the suspenseful course of the season...Quirky and surprisingly affecting good fun--Ira Glass must be jealous., Susan Warren has a fine sense of humor, too. This is a good thing, since she has written a book, "Backyard Giants," about the cultivation of pumpkins that weigh between 1,100 and 1,500 pounds. Most of these no longer look like pumpkins at all; they look like "alien pods in the cargo bay of a spaceship." "Gravity pulls on these behemoths as they grow," Warren writes, "shaping them into lopsided lumps." These pumpkins are, in short, hideous, but the people who cultivate them make full-time jobs of their passion and count on the monstrous results for validation. Says one aspirant to horticultural immortality, "I know that sometime before I take that big dirt nap, I'll be a world champion.", Praise for Backyard Giants: "Strangely engrossing...Warren masterfully limns the subculture and the personalities of the fanatical growers, and the degree of peril is so high it is impossible not to get swept up in the suspenseful course of the season...Quirky and surprisingly affecting good fun--Ira Glass must be jealous." - "Kirkus" "In a world of biggests, highests, fastests, and farthests--of human obsessions that stretch the imagination--it should come as no surprise that there are people who devote the better part of their lives to growing pumpkins as big as elephants. But while size certainly matters, Susan Warren's expertly reported, charmingly told tale is about much more than the hidden subculture of enormous fruit. Backyard Giants is about the inexplicable drives and complex emotions that make the world such a wondrous place.'"--"Stefan Fatsis, author of "Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players" "Of all the whack-brained things people do in their back yards - the compulsive cultivation of grass, the feeding of carnivorous bears, and let us never forget lawn darts - this is one of the most thoroughly whack-brained. In hog-wallows of manure, fertilizer and pesticide, pumpkins the size of old sofas are coaxed and coddled like race horses. Grown men (and a few women) hover over their patches, guarding the virginity of flowers with Ziploc bags, pruning vines with surgical angst, and arranging fans or woolen blankets on the swollen squash as the weather dictates. They lie awake in their beds listening for vandals and the sounds of growth-gone-mad as the gourds engorge themselves by 40, 50, 60 pounds in a night. Ahairline split in the squash's stretching skin is all that's required to redirect a season's worth of toil to the compost pile. Those who shelter their pumpkins from overgrowth, bugs, woodchucks, fungus, hail, frost, sun, and all other natural phenomena, aim for world-record territory, currently a few hundred pounds shy of a Toyota Tercel or roughly equivalent to a holstein. Backyard Giants is a portrait of obsession, disturbing and wondrous.""--"Hannah Holmes, author of "Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn", Of all the whack-brained things people do in their back yards - the compulsive cultivation of grass, the feeding of carnivorous bears, and let us never forget lawn darts - this is one of the most thoroughly whack-brained. In hog-wallows of manure, fertilizer and pesticide, pumpkins the size of old sofas are coaxed and coddled like race horses. Grown men (and a few women) hover over their patches, guarding the virginity of flowers with Ziploc bags, pruning vines with surgical angst, and arranging fans or woolen blankets on the swollen squash as the weather dictates. They lie awake in their beds listening for vandals and the sounds of growth-gone-mad as the gourds engorge themselves by 40, 50, 60 pounds in a night. A hairline split in the squash's stretching skin is all that's required to redirect a season's worth of toil to the compost pile. Those who shelter their pumpkins from overgrowth, bugs, woodchucks, fungus, hail, frost, sun, and all other natural phenomena, aim for world-record territory, currently a few hundred pounds shy of a Toyota Tercel or roughly equivalent to a holstein. Backyard Giants is a portrait of obsession, disturbing and wondrous., Susan Warren has a fine sense of humor, too. This is a good thing, since she has written a book, "Backyard Giants," about the cultivation of pumpkins that weigh between 1,100 and 1,500 pounds. Most of these no longer look like pumpkins at all; they look like "alien pods in the cargo bay of a spaceship." "Gravity pulls on these behemoths as they grow," Warren writes, "shaping them into lopsided lumps." These pumpkins are, in short, hideous, but the people who cultivate them make full-time jobs of their passion and count on the monstrous results for validation. Says one aspirant to horticultural immortality, "I know that sometime before I take that big dirt nap, I'll be a world champion., As bank accounts dwindle and ulcers blossom, Warren's hilarious yet enlightening exposé reveals why and how these passionate, peculiar, and painstaking pumpkin growers are willing to put it all on the line for one big--one very big--payoff., Praise for Backyard Giants: " From beginning to end, "Backyard Giants" is packed with heart-stopping suspense. It would not be fair to author or reader to give away the ending. Instead, rush to the nearest bookstore for a copy of this page-turning book."--Raleigh News & Observer "Susan Warren has a fine sense of humor, too. This is a good thing, since she has written a book, "Backyard Giants," about the cultivation of pumpkins that weigh between 1,100 and 1,500 pounds. Most of these no longer look like pumpkins at all; they look like "alien pods in the cargo bay of a spaceship." "Gravity pulls on these behemoths as they grow," Warren writes, "shaping them into lopsided lumps." These pumpkins are, in short, hideous, but the people who cultivate them make full-time jobs of their passion and count on the monstrous results for validation. Says one aspirant to horticultural immortality, "I know that sometime before I take that big dirt nap, I'll be a world champion.""--Boston Globe "Full of triumph, suspense, and the humor of disappointment....[Warren] accomplishes what so few writers about science do--she makes clear and interesting the science behind the story."-Library Journal "The book is as full of human drama as it is growing tips."-About.com Gardening "The final chapters are so tense, and so well-written, that, like with a mystery novel, I covered up the last page so I wouldn't be able to see how it ended. Yes, in a book about pumpkins. You'll never look at your jack-o'-lantern the same way again."-Philadelphia City Paper"Gardeners who spend their summers obsessed over the success of small-time crops like tomatoes and zucchini will get caught up in this tale of growing great pumpkins. Susan Warren's "Backyard Giants" (Bloomsbury, $24.95) serves up intimate portraits of folks who will risk everything to grow the biggest gourd on the block. This book is an entertaining caution for keeping it all in perspective."-DenverPost"Thoroughly engaging….Warren peaks the anticipation with the big fall weigh-ins, lending a humorous, poignant touch to this hearty gardener's tale."-Publishers Weekly"Strangely engrossing...Warren masterfully limns the subculture and the personalities of the fanatical growers, and the degree of peril is so high it is impossible not to get swept up in the suspenseful course of the season...Quirky and surprisingly affecting good fun--Ira Glass must be jealous." -Kirkus "As bank accounts dwindle and ulcers blossom, Warren's hilarious yet enlightening exposé reveals why and how these passionate, peculiar, and painstaking pumpkin growers are willing to put it all on the line for one big-one very big-payoff."-Booklist "In a world of biggests, highests, fastests, and farthests-of human obsessions that stretch the imagination-it should come as no surprise that there are people who devote the better part of their lives to growing pumpkins as big as elephants. But while size certainly matters, Susan Warren's expertly reported, charmingly told tale is about much more than the hidden subculture of enormous fruit. Backyard Giants is about the inexplicable drives and complex emotions that make the world such a wondrous place.'--Stefan Fatsis, author ofWord Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players"Of all the whack-brained things people d, From beginning to end, "Backyard Giants" is packed with heart-stopping suspense. It would not be fair to author or reader to give away the ending. Instead, rush to the nearest bookstore for a copy of this page-turning book., Praise for Backyard Giants: "Strangely engrossing...Warren masterfully limns the subculture and the personalities of the fanatical growers, and the degree of peril is so high it is impossible not to get swept up in the suspenseful course of the season...Quirky and surprisingly affecting good fun--Ira Glass must be jealous." -Kirkus "In a world of biggests, highests, fastests, and farthests-of human obsessions that stretch the imagination-it should come as no surprise that there are people who devote the better part of their lives to growing pumpkins as big as elephants. But while size certainly matters, Susan Warren's expertly reported, charmingly told tale is about much more than the hidden subculture of enormous fruit. Backyard Giants is about the inexplicable drives and complex emotions that make the world such a wondrous place.'--Stefan Fatsis, author ofWord Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players "Of all the whack-brained things people do in their back yards - the compulsive cultivation of grass, the feeding of carnivorous bears, and let us never forget lawn darts - this is one of the most thoroughly whack-brained. In hog-wallows of manure, fertilizer and pesticide, pumpkins the size of old sofas are coaxed and coddled like race horses. Grown men (and a few women) hover over their patches, guarding the virginity of flowers with Ziploc bags, pruning vines with surgical angst, and arranging fans or woolen blankets on the swollen squash as the weather dictates. They lie awake in their beds listening for vandals and the sounds of growth-gone-mad as the gourds engorge themselves by 40, 50, 60 pounds in a night. A hairline split in the squash's stretching skin is all that's required to redirect a season's worth of toil to the compost pile. Those who shelter their pumpkins from overgrowth, bugs, woodchucks, fungus, hail, frost, sun, and all other natural phenomena, aim for world-record territory, currently a few hundred pounds shy of a Toyota Tercel or roughly equivalent to a holstein. Backyard Giants is a portrait of obsession, disturbing and wondrous."--Hannah Holmes, author ofSuburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn, The final chapters are so tense, and so well-written, that, like with a mystery novel, I covered up the last page so I wouldn't be able to see how it ended. Yes, in a book about pumpkins. You'll never look at your jack-o'-lantern the same way again.
Synopsis
In the tradition of Word Freak and Confederates in the Attic, a charming, witty account of a season in mad pursuit of the world's largest pumpkin. Every year, the race to grow the biggest pumpkin in the world draws a rowdy crowd of obsessive gardeners to county fairs and weigh-offs across the country. The competition is furious; there's sabotage and treachery and the heartbreak of root rot, and many a weigh-off ends in tears. This year more than just the grand prize is at stake. The Holy Grail is within reach: the world's first fifteen-hundred pound pumpkin. And Ron and Dick Wallace will stop at nothing to get it. Backyard Giants follows a tumultuous season in the life of a close-knit tribe of competitors as they chase down the ultimate pumpkin prize. In the grueling and gut-wrenching quest for truly colossal fruit, vacations are postponed, marriages are strained, and savings accounts are emptied. Backyards are converted into leafy laboratories of biogenetics and toxic chemicals--to say nothing of pumpkin sex. Riding shotgun with Ron and his father Dick, Wall Street Journal editor Susan Warren brings to life a winning and unforgettable crew of pumpkin lunatics: the newbie who shocked everyone by growing the big one last year; the pro-bono slime scientist; the groundhog assassin; and the safety trainer who risked electrocuting himself to save his patch. Funny, sharp, and engaging, Backyard Giants is a romp through a charming corner of American life, as quirky and enchanting as the big pumpkins themselves.
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- c***c (3040)- Bewertung vom Käufer.Letzter MonatBestätigter KaufItem in good condition. Good transaction.
- v***v (2085)- Bewertung vom Käufer.Letzte 6 MonateBestätigter KaufAlthough this book was not as described, with no picture of it in the listing, the seller communicated well and quickly gave me a full refund while letting me keep it. The minimal packaging left the book a bit vulnerable (typical for ThriftBooks), but it did arrive safely and timely. As usual, it’s hit or miss with this seller, but often times you can get great values, and their customer service is always very good. Many other sellers with millions of transactions don’t even communicate.
- c***m (433)- Bewertung vom Käufer.Letzte 6 MonateBestätigter KaufWOW!; I cannot believe this 3 Days to Hawaii! ; AAA+++; Excellent Service; Great Pricing; Fast Delivery-Faster Than Expected to Hawaii!; Shipped 05/05, Mon, Received 05/08, Thu to Hawaii using free shipping; USPS Ground Mail, Book in Excellent Condition--Better Than Described ; TLC Packaging; Excellent Seller Communication, Sends updates . Highly Recommended!, Thank you very much!The Internment of Japanese Americans During World War II (Nr. 146005407795)
- 7***j (835)- Bewertung vom Käufer.Letzter MonatBestätigter KaufI recently purchased an item from this eBay seller, and I couldn't be happier with the experience. From the prompt communication to the fast shipping, everything was handled with utmost professionalism. The item arrived exactly as described and was well-packaged to ensure its safety during transit. The seller was courteous and responsive, making the entire transaction smooth and hassle-free. I highly recommend this seller to anyone looking for quality products and excellent service.