‘This is a gardening book that takes readers not on a walk around great estates but on a tour of great minds … It's a lovely extension on the notion that gardens make you contemplative and in working with the soil you see life's big picture.’

‘This is a gardening book that takes readers not on a walk around great estates but on a tour of great minds … It's a lovely extension on the notion that gardens make you contemplative and in working with the soil you see life's big picture.’

‘Erudite, yet witty and accessible, [Philosophy in the Garden] is intellectual history at its most completely pleasurable.’

‘[S]prightly and stimulating.’

‘Like a garden coming into spring … tremendous vistas of thought.’

‘A gentle dig for ideas about how to live — this book will grow your mind and put a glow in your cheeks.’

‘A brilliant philosophical and literary meditation that helps us rethink our relationship with the natural world – and with ourselves.’

‘Young writes with a delightful combination of humour and insight.’

‘[T]hought-provoking … fine book.’

‘[T]hought provoking indeed.’

‘I've been looking forward to Damon Young’s [Philosophy in the Garden] … all year. Part philosophy lesson, part literary companion, it's a contemplative stroll through writers' relationships with their gardens.’

‘I found it utterly engaging and most illuminating. His style is very readable and full of wit and personality.’

‘This beautiful looking book is a wonderfully refreshing mix of literary gossip, historical exposition and philosophical reflection, and I never wanted it to end.’

‘Young is an engaging writer. His technique is fluent and stylish and never marred by cliches or cliched thinking. He is sincere, a great relief from the ocean of irony in which we live, and intellectually questing, a relief from that other ocean of schmaltzy platitude.’

‘Reading this book is like strolling in a luxuriant garden with an erudite friend, although one of a literary rather than horticultural bent … Think of this engaging little book … as a philosophical primer, an approachable introduction to ideas about gardens and the natural world.’

‘[Philosophy in the Garden] is a stimulating read where individual truths may well bloom … [T]his volume is packed with brilliant literary info.’

‘[M]ore my kind of ‘gardening’ than the digging type … Particularly interesting is his account of Jane Austen’s creative relationship with her Hampshire gardens.’

‘Young helps readers reflect on the value of the garden beyond a place to hold a backyard barbecue … [He] writes engagingly, showing off his skills as a storyteller … [A]n intriguing little book.’

‘[T]ake the plunge: the writing is fresh, the observations discursive, and the garden … placed front and centre.’

‘[T]houghtful and highly entertaining.’

‘Young has managed the difficult task of creating an academically rigorous work while maintaining a light and engaging tone throughout the book, which is actually a highly intellectual look at the complex relationship between humanity and nature.’

‘[W]ith his vivid, critical, and, sometimes loving, attention to detail, he brings to new life writers and philosophers that anyone with a liberal arts education thought they already knew … Young's enthusiasm, compassion, and moments of personal insight are infectious.’

‘An absolute joy of a book — I couldn't put it down. Its prose is as careful and lovely as a beautifully tended garden.’

‘[A] fascinating journey through the lives and creativity of writers … It is an intimate, charming book.’

‘[L]ucid and entertaining … an enjoyable and erudite addition to a burgeoning literature.’

‘[F]or readers drawn to learning about the millennia-old tradition of teaching, writing, and thinking in the outdoors, this pithy offering will more than satisfy.’

Damon Young is a prize-winning philosopher and writer. He is the author or editor of thirteen books, including The Art of Reading, How to Think About Exercise, Philosophy in the Garden, and Distraction. His works have been translated into eleven languages, and he has also written poetry, short fiction, and children’s fiction. Young is an Associate in Philosophy at the University of Melbourne.