A wide-ranging and delightful narrative history of the celebrated plant breeder
Luther Burbank and the business of farm and garden in early twentieth century America
by Jane S. Smith
Copyright © 2009 Jane S. Smith
Published by The Penguin Press

Advance Praise for The Garden of Invention

“The Garden of Invention is a long overdue volume in food literature—a great story, well told.”
- Mark Kurlansky, the New York Times best-selling author of Cod and Salt

“Gardening, whether in a backyard plot or a hundred-acre orchard, is an audacious attempt to improve on nature, and Jane Smith’s fascinating hybrid of biography, history, and botany brings to life the most audacious of them all. In an age when we might be forgiven for thinking it takes millions of corporate dollars and genetic engineers to produce a new plant, The Garden of Invention reminds us how one man’s singular determination, patience, and brilliance can change the world. So put down that French fry (from a Burbank potato) and sample some of the delightful blooms in Smith’s Garden.”
— William Alexander, author of The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden

“In this lively and well-researched biography, Jane S. Smith has accorded a giant of American inventiveness the recognition he deserves. Thanks to this pioneering study of a horticultural genius, Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa, California can now take his place alongside Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and the other entrepreneur-inventors of his era.”
- Kevin Starr, University of Southern California, author of Americans and the Californian Dream

"Those who’ve hoed the archives hoping for a glimpse of the ever-mutating Luther Burbank will luxuriate in this magnificently researched—and juicy—account. From black-eyed marital assaults to systems of delayed orgasms, Smith reveals a shirt-ripping “Cosmist” whose devotion to the mysteries of nature yielded countless marvels."
- Adam Leith Gollner, author of The Fruit Hunters

“Jane Smith has written a marvelous biography of Luther Burbank, an American folk hero, a botanical wizard and impresario of the garden, who spent his life wrestling nature into compliance with human will and desire. The Garden of Invention is a very human story of the boundless imagination and ambition that underlie the woes and wonders of agriculture today. Like Michael Pollan’s Botany of Desire or The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The Garden of Invention will fascinate anyone who eats.”
- Ruth Ozeki, author of All Over Creation and My Year of Meats

“Jane Smith couldn't be more timely. She resuscitates that ambiguous American original, Luther Burbank, the endlessly inventive seedsman who put genetics to work and started the never-ending race to breed larger, better, more commercial plants—today, a mixed blessing, the promise of bounty compromised by fear of scientific experiment. The Garden of Invention is an engrossing read on a very important subject.”
- Gina Mallet, author of Last Chance To Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World