Lab Girl Book Summary

In 'Lab Girl,' Hope Jahren takes readers on a captivating journey through the world of scientific discovery and the beauty of nature. With vivid storytelling, she intertwines her personal narrative of perseverance and the challenges faced as a female scientist. Jahren's passion for plants and soil comes alive, revealing the intricate connections between all living things. This memoir is not just about science but also about friendship, resilience, and the pursuit of knowledge. Prepare to be inspired by her unique perspective on life, growth, and what it truly means to be a scientist.

By Hope Jahren

Published: 2017

""The greatest plant you can grow is a human being, and the truth is that we are all inextricably tied to the world around us.""

Book Review of Lab Girl

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Geobiologist Hope Jahren has spent her life studying trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Lab Girl is her revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also a celebration of the lifelong curiosity, humility, and passion that drive every scientist. "Does for botany what Oliver Sacks’s essays did for neurology, what Stephen Jay Gould’s writings did for paleontology.” —The New York Times In these pages, Hope takes us back to her Minnesota childhood, where she spent hours in unfettered play in her father’s college laboratory. She tells us how she found a sanctuary in science, learning to perform lab work “with both the heart and the hands.” She introduces us to Bill, her brilliant, eccentric lab manager. And she extends the mantle of scientist to each one of her readers, inviting us to join her in observing and protecting our environment. Warm, luminous, compulsively readable, Lab Girl vividly demonstrates the mountains that we can move when love and work come together.

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"The greatest plant you can grow is a human being, and the truth is that we are all inextricably tied to the world around us."

Lab Girl

By Hope Jahren