The Light Eaters

How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth

By: Zoë Schlanger

Narrated by: Zoë Schlanger

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“A masterpiece of science writing.” –Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass

“Mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful.” –Ed Yong, author of An Immense World

“Rich, vital, and full of surprises. Read it!” –Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction

“A brilliant must-read. This book shook and changed me.” –David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken, The Songs of Trees, and The Forest Unseen

Award-winning Atlantic staff writer Zoë Schlanger delivers a groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom, “destabilizing not just how we see the green things of the world but also our place in the hierarchy of beings, and maybe the notion of that hierarchy itself.” (The New Yorker)

It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents.

The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close.

What can we learn about life on Earth from the living things that thrive, adapt, consume, and accommodate simultaneously? More important, what do we owe these life forms once we come to understand their rich and varied abilities? Examining the latest epiphanies in botanical research, Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is.

We need plants to survive. But what do they need us for—if at all? An eye-opening and informative look at the ecosystem we live in, this book challenges us to rethink the role of plants—and our own place—in the natural world.

©2024 Zoë Schlanger (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Mind-blowing

i will never think of plants as inanimate objects again. They are creatures with real agency in the world. They make decisions. Many species can count and remember events in the past. They comunicate with each other and with insects. I can't recommend this audio book highly enough.

New facts and feelings about plants

I'm a long time plant lover. This book is amazing in showing us ways our sister beings, our elders communicate and solve problems. I think this deeper look will renew our scrapy struggle for a climate safer future and a nuclear weapons free world.

This is wonderful

Some of the information presented here I already knew, but so much of it was new to me. And there is so much information. Everything is well documented, clearly presented, and beautifully framed. I highly recommend this book for everyone.

Very good

A well- researched albeit sappy listen. She is very passionate about the subject of plants, I appreciate her efforts to move the needle on scientific rigidity and force a new perspective on how we view nature and how we feel the need to anthropomorphize everything to our level.

One of the best books ever

So well written, a pleasure to read. Fascinating and profound content. Lovely narration by the author.

The caring authenticity of the author

Thank you for exploring the lives of the plant world. Your research is fascinating and inspiring.

Staggering, beautiful, engrossing

An absolutely fantastic exploration of the world. A must-read for all humans. Beautifully written, wisely considered, and humanely told.

Incredible insight into the plant world

Every page was a new insight. I love this book and hope everyone reads it. it will redefine your view of plants and the position of humans in the natural world.

I learned to appreciate plants more

This read like a science textbook, and I was happy to find it was on audible. Interesting but laborious to read.

Glorious

Lovely, glorious science writing on an intriguing topic, written passionately, poetically yet extremely erudite in its dealings with scientific concepts and explanations. A masterpiece!