The Tulip: The Story of a Flower That Has Made Men Mad

About this book

A twentieth anniversary edition of the classic featuring new material by the author. Anna Pavords internationally bestselling sensation The Tulip is the story of a flower that has driven men mad. Greed desire anguish and devotion have all played their part in the development of the tulip into a worldwide phenomenon. Today the United States alone imports three thousand million tulip bulbs each year. No other flower has ever carried so much consequence; it charts political upheavals illuminates social behavior mirrors economic booms and busts plots the ebb and flow of religious persecution. Why did the tulip dominate so many lives through so many centuries in so many countries? Anna Pavord a self-confessed tulipomaniac spent six years looking for answers roaming through Asia India and the Ottoman Empire to tell how a humble wildflower of the Asian steppes made its way to Turkey and from there took the whole of Western Europe by storm. Sumptuously illustrated from a wide range of sources this irresistible volume has become a bible a unique source book a universal gift book and a joy to all who possess it. This beautifully redesigned edition features a new Preface by the author a completely revised listing of the best varieties of this incomparable flower to choose for your garden and a reorganized listing of tulip species to reflect the latest thinking by taxonomists.