 In this video, I will be sharing the top reviews of the book called, Braiding Sweetgrass, authored by Robin Wall Kimmerer who is Associate Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY ESF. She is the author of numerous scientific articles, and the book Gathering Moss, a natural and cultural history of mosses. She is Potawatomi and combines her heritage with her scientific and environmental passions. But before we get to the reviews let's see a little bit of what this book is about. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. Only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth and learning to give our own gifts in return. Now let's get to the reviews. Rowena from Canada says this is by far one of the most important books I've read this year. The author is a scientist but she is also a poet. Her writing is absolutely stunning and eloquent. Her love for the land, especially the land she grew up on, comes through very clearly in her writing. There is an acknowledgment that the previously ignored indigenous cultures and knowledge are absolutely essential. As much as I focus on indigenous research in my studies, this is the first time I have seen the focus is on science. This book was definitely a shout out to indigenous culture and knowledge, the knowledge that is often ignored by academia or seen as wishy-washy or not true science. My natural inclination was to see relationships, to seek the threads that connect the world, to join instead of divide. But science is rigorous in separating the observer from the observed, and the observed from the observer. The book clearly states the importance of the land, for so many reasons, sustenance, healing, etc. While reading this, I thought of how my mother had had asthma as a child but my grandfather, who was very familiar with traditional African medicine, which was of course seen as backwards by western medicine, knew which plant medicine to give my mother. She doesn't have asthma anymore. My grandfather also helped with my sister's anemia, by boiling guava leaves in water and giving her the liquid to drink. This helps to replenish iron levels. What sort of knowledge is dying out because people aren't interested in the land anymore? My grandfather passed away and I wonder who has the knowledge of the herb that cured my mother's asthma. Diane from the States says one of my goals this year was to read more non-fiction, a goal I believe I accomplished. Never thought I would rate my last three non-fiction reads 5 stars. This was a wonderful, wonderful book. It teaches the reader so many things about plants and nature in general. Different animals and how the indigenous people learned from watching them and plants, the trees. This is how they learned to survive when they had little. Teaches us about thankfulness, gratitude and how often we take these wonderful things in nature for granted. How important traditions are, languages and family. How much we can learn from others. I am so glad I bought this book. Because though I seldom reread I can see myself picking this book up and reading a chapter, pretty much any chapter, and reminding myself of all I have. A book I hope never to forget. Alexis from the United States says I feel I must justify my rating of this book as some of my peers would disagree with me. First, I simply did not enjoy the book stylistically. While I treasure creative non-fiction essays, I find Kimmerer's language overreaching in its poetic pursuits. If this were my only qualm with braiding sweetgrass, I would be able to overlook it. However, Kimmerer's lengthy prose poetry is coupled with an overgeneralized critique of American, Western, Christian culture, often conflating all three instead of recognizing the nuances between them. Kimmerer understandably favors her native culture, but in her efforts to emphasize its best, she often misrepresents the other side. For example, in her first chapter, she compares the Sky Woman legend with Eve in Eden, claiming that Sky Woman is inherently in harmony with nature while Eve is at war with it. I found this problematic as she neglects the further complexities of the Eden story, the presence of Adam and God for starters. Her version of the Christian creation story juxtaposed with the Sky Woman tale certainly implies that Western society, as in typical Western society, for certain, her people were further West first, is at odds with nature due to their foundation myths. However, this certainly is not the case. It is quite clear that when Moses speaks of subduing the earth, he does not mean to destroy but to cultivate, for it is obvious we require it to survive. This is merely one example of the many I found. Wendy from the United States it's difficult to rate this book because it's so frequently veered from two to five stars for me. Five stars for the beauty of some of Robin Wall Kimmerer's writing in many essays, chapters. Five stars for introducing me to sweet grass, its many Native American traditions, and her message of caring for and showing gratitude for the earth. Five stars for the author's honest telling of her growth as a learner and a professor, and the impressions she must have made on college students unaccustomed to observing or interacting with nature. But just two stars for the repetitive themes, the disorganization of the book as a whole, the need for editing and shortening in many places. I wish Robin Wall Kimmerer had written three short books instead of one long book. I would have liked to read just about sweet grass and the customs surrounding it, to read just about her journey as a Native American scientist and professor, or to read just about her experiences as a mother. The various themes didn't braid together as well as sweet grass itself does. I read this book in a book club, and one of the others brought some braided sweetgrass to our meeting. I felt euphoric inhaling the intense fragrance and truly understood why the author would name a book after this plant. Thomas from the United States says powerful book with lots of indigenous wisdom related to science, gratitude, and how we relate to the land. I appreciated Robin Wall Kimmerer's perspective on giving back to the land considering how much the land gives to us. As a social scientist myself, I found her nuanced ideas about the relationship between Western science and indigenous worldviews compelling. Her writing about the importance of maintaining indigenous language and culture also elicited feelings of tenderness and sadness from me. While the discursive style of braiding sweetgrass detracted from my enjoyment of it, I still would recommend the book to anyone interested in environmental justice and indigenous worldviews. 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