Jonathan Silvertown Nature’s Magicians review and information on the content book on how leaves conjure up our world. Scribner will publish this book on written by Jonathan Silvertown, the evolutionary biologist, October 6, 2026. Here you can read information about the content of the book, the author and the publication.
Jonathan Silvertown Nature’s Magicians reviews and information
Whenever a review of Nature’s Magicians, How Leaves Conjure Up Our World, written by Jonathan Silvertown, the british evolutionary biologist, appears in the media, we’ll highlight it on this page.
- “Nature’s Magicians reminded me–a plant biologist–that there is always more to discover in a leaf. What Silvertown does best is take the science that specialists like me take for granted and transform it into something that will captivate any reader. From the canopies of tropical rainforests to the adaptations of desert plants, he captures the centrality of leaves in all our lives–creating food from sunlight, recycling water back into the atmosphere, making medicines and poisons, and providing our shelter and clothing. If you want a book that will make the people in your life finally understand why leaves matter, this is it.”(Pamela C. Ronald, Distinguished Professor, Dept Plant Pathology and the Genome Center at UC Davis)
- “If you’ve ever contemplated the question ‘What do leaves do?, ‘ Jonathan Silvertown offers intriguing insights and answers in Nature’s Magicians. Exploring leaves as both a source and currency of life, Silvertown surveys many facets of leaves including function, shape, architecture, how they fight off pests, and their connections to plant behavior, among others. Nature’s Magicians is a riveting invitation for plant lovers and nature enthusiasts alike to engage and marvel anew at the magic and power of leaves.” (Beronda L. Montgomery, author)
Nature’s Magicians
How Leaves Conjure Up Our World
- Author: Jonathan Silvertown
- Book type: biology book
- Publisher: Scribner
- To be released: October 6, 2026
- Length: 256 pages
- Format: hardcover / ebook / audiobook
- Prize: $ 29.00 / $ 14.99 / $ 21.99
- Buying Options >
Book by Jonathan Silvertown on how leaves conjure up our world
In this provocative reimagining of what it is to be a plant, an evolutionary biologist draws on a lifetime of research to offer a beguiling behind-the-scenes perspective on how plants really work—and how we truly depend on leaves for our survival.
Leaves are so familiar that they are easy to overlook. Yet it is through leaves that plants perform their magic—not least building towers of wood from the unlikeliest of raw materials: carbon dioxide, a shower of rain, a heap of dung, and some sunlight. The air we breathe is cleaned by leaves. Everything we eat that comes from the land began as a leaf. More water is transpired through leaves than flows through all the streams and rivers on Earth.
Rendering complex concepts of plant biology into engaging and accessible prose, Jonathan Silvertown revels in the evolutionary success of these magicians of the natural world. If leaves are so vital to plant life, why did land plants have none at all for the first 50 million years of their evolution? Today, there are easily more leaves on Earth than stars in our galaxy. What changed? Silvertown explains how leaves grow, the ways they protect themselves against invaders, and the reasons they take such diverse shapes, sizes, and color.
By reframing the leaf as a solar panel, rainmaker, lunch box, chemistry set, shapeshifter, soil maker, geometric designer, and more, Nature’s Magicians reveals just how essential leaves are to life on this planet—and reminds us that nature’s smallest components often contain its greatest wonders.
Jonathan Silvertown is honorary professor at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh. An evolutionary biologist who has published widely on plant population biology, he is the author of nine books, including Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution, Selfish Genes to Social Beings: A Cooperative History of Life, and Nature’s Magicians: How Leaves Conjure Up Our World.