I am a fresh flower lover, and often wondered about the variations in size, price, and variety. This book is a facinating read on the whole business involved in growing, handling, and marketing of flowers worldwide. The history of some flowers was particularly interesting (esp. the stargazer lily). The importance of making the flower industry healthier for the growers, and healthier for the various handlers of flowers is important, and I'll be watching for what I can do as a purchaser to facilitate this. I highly recommend this as an important tool to understand the flower industry, and what needs to be done to improve it, and the importance of establishing and clarifying health standards for the workers which to me is a glaring need. The writer warms to the subject of the vastness and complexity of the flower industry as the book progresses, and it was facinating. I highly recommend it!

This is a wonderful book and I learned something practically with every new page. I recommend this to others, and the product arrived promptly!

Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart is a fascinating look inside the flower business. I love books like this that give an indepth look into hidden worlds that operate beyond our normal ken. Stewart includes great tidbits that are perfect pieces of trivia for tossing around: bees can't see red. But the real charm of this book is her own passion for flowers and how it leads her to travel the world in search of the truth behind where the flowers we buy come from. She takes us from a flower farm in California to greenhouses in Ecuador to the famous Dutch auction houses. Each place comes to life through her detailed witty descriptions. The sad tale of the creation of the Star Gazer lily and the fight for the rights to it is compelling drama. Stewart gives the history of breeding and selling flowers up to the current gene-splicing in the current quest for a truly blue rose. Her tantalizing descriptions of flowers led me to keep the laptop open next to me so I could see each flower for myself. She brings up excellent questions about where and how flowers should be grown and what we as consumers should expect. Stewart covers organic flowers and worker conditions as well as describing the odd and often unpoetic ways in which these flowers are grown. Fantastic read!

Amy Stewart joins the ranks of other authors who make the everyday fascinating. Dava Sovel made the concept of "longitude" captivating. Kurlansky made everyday "Salt" capitvating. Michael Pollan took on the mundane subjects of gardening and eating and turned them into page-turners as well as thought-provoking, life-changing events. In her second book, Amy Stewart made "Worms" seem monumental in "The Earth Moved..." and now she takes on the grocery store flower in ways that will make you stop and think. If you enjoy thinking about things that most people take for granted, read "Flower Confidential" and you will never see that bouquet of flowers in the supermarket the same again.

THE AUTHOR DESERVES APPLAUSE FOR INVESTIGATING TERRITORY THAT WE ALL COME IN DAILY CONTACT WITH YET ARE COMPLETELY AND LARGELY UNAWARE OF. I FIND HER STORY - FROM DUTCH FLOWER AUCTIONS TO FLOWER WAREHOUSES AROUND THE WORLD - TO BE INTERESTING, EDUCATIONAL AND UTTERLY FASCINATING. THIS NOVEL IS UNIQUE AND PACKED WITH INTERESTING DETAILS ABOUT AN ITEM WE USE TO EXPRESS OURSELVES FOR EVERYTHING FROM WEDDINGS TO FUNERALS TO PROMS. IT READS LIKE THE MOST INTERESTING CONVERSATION YOU'VE EVER HEARD REGARDING TWO PEOPLE, EXCEPT IT'S ABOUT THE WORLD-WIDE, MILLION-DOLLAR FLOWER INDUSTRY.