The Metamorphosis of Plants

Goethe was not only a brilliant writer; he was probably one of the most original men of his time. Those of you who had read Werther or Faust will now know, because of this book, another of the not-so-well facets of Goethe, which was his passion for science. In this book, which is part of a reflection he had while travelling through Italy (trying to find, among other things, love) and while looking at some flowers in an Italian garden, he had the brilliant idea that a flower is a modified leaf. This becomes part of one of his most interesting ideas about development, which is the evolution of the forms, or the idea that forms are essential to understand plant and animal development. Some of these ideas, which modern plant science has recently demonstrated, are reflected in this book, which was a much needed and serious translation from his original German assay. It is also accompanied by very descriptive and beautiful images representing those flowers he mentions in his book and is also edited in an old style which makes it very appealing. I would say it is a book that is a pleasure to read and to keep!

I have a hard cover copy of this book, even in the age of pdf and kindle.It is the kind of book that you want to own - it is elegant, well bound, and filled with dazzling displays of art.Goethe goes inside of the plant from seed to death and makes us feel the process as if we were the Kantian "Noumena" or thing-in-itself, in this case, the vegetative life-process.As a gardener, my experience is truly uplifted into the sublime as I feel this process, and assume that Goethe was basically saying what all tillers of the soil, even back to Hesiod, felt when witnessing the recurring cycles of vegetation.I only wish I had been taught science this way instead of the drab, Linnaeus-inspired taxonomy as an endless series of lists of Latin names.The Goethean way is the true way to experience nature: magically, yet without priestcraft and superstition. Scientific, yet sublime.

Read the Kindle version and was easy because of small numbered verses and short length of book. Use this personally as a meditation for how plants develop I try to visualize the process and compare various plants in my mind

First of all, this is an exceptionally beautiful book: compact in size, but neatly designed and illustrated with many photographs of flowers and plant parts that are printed with stunning clarity and color. The text is scientific but accessible, and because it is broken into short paragraphs, it never seems heavy. Goethe's idea is simple enough: he traces the morphological sequence from the first sprouts to the stem, leaves, flowers, fruit and seed of the next cycle, showing that the same formal principle is carried forth through each stage of the plant's development. Miller's introduction is succinct and illuminating. He also took the photographs and selected the other illustrations, including sketches by Goethe himself. The result is a scholarly treatment that anybody with an interest in plants can enjoy.

Goethe's monograph, Metamorphosis of Plants is surprisingly elegant in the aesthetic simplicity of his ideas and the clarity of his presentation of them. Of particular importance to this reader is the concordance of this edition with Goethe's dictum;"[w]e ought to talk less and draw more. I personally should like to renounce speech altogether and, like organic nature, communicate everything I have to say in sketches." The many photographs and sketches that illustrate the presented concepts are a particularly accomplished example of unification of high ornamentation and explanation.

Very good condition, read but respectfully to match the character of the book.

An iconic work. A must for every lover of nature, science, and art.

This is a beautiful, rich publication of a classic work. The addition of the photos to illustrate the points Goethe is making is very helpful.

Es una visión fascinante y totalmente distinta de la habitual sobre el crecimiento de las plantas. Esta versión en inglés es especialmente buena, el texto está muy bien traducido con lenguaje actualizado, la introducción es maravillosa y muy importante para comprender el contexto y las circunstancias que llevaron a Goethe a desarrollar esta tesis. Todo esto no lo tiene la versión española, editada con otro título y de verdad, nada que ver. Este un libro breve pero altamente interesante. Y no hablemos de la edición, maravillosa, super cuidada, con unas imágenes espectaculares... Desde que lo leí ahora observo las plantas con mayor interés y una mirada diferente. Eso sí, hay que poder leer bien en inglés.

Este libro tiene fotos increíbles, muy interesante para quienes amamos las plantas. Vale la pena

This is a beautiful edition of Goethe's text, but my copy seems to have been produced without a signature so that pp. 93-108 are missing.