03640cam a22004458i 450000100090000000300080000900500170001700800410003401000170007502000310009202000310012302000270015404000230018104200080020404300300021205000240024208200340026610000280030024501090032824600640043725000380050126300170053926400330055630000130058933600260060233700280062833800270065650400510068352018130073460000550254760000430260260000340264561000640267965000770274365000650282065000620288565000400294765100580298777601490304523761844MeVbMML20240919114329.0240703s2024    nyu      b    001 0deng    a  2024030974  a9781668007662q(hardcover)  a9781668065778q(softcover)  z9781668007686q(ebook)  aDLCbengerdacDLC  apcc  ae-ur---ae-ru---ae-gx---00aD764.3.L4bP37 202400a940.54/21721223/eng/202407031 aParkin, Simon,eauthor.14aThe forbidden garden :bthe botanists of besieged Leningrad and their impossible choice /cSimon Parkin.3 aBotanists of besieged Leningrad and their impossible choice  aFirst Scribner softcover edition.  aOct 15, 2024 1aNew York :bScribner,c2024.  apages cm  atextbtxt2rdacontent  aunmediatedbn2rdamedia  avolumebnc2rdacarrier  aIncludes bibliographical references and index.  a"In the summer of 1941, German troops surrounded the Russian city of Leningrad-now St. Petersburg-and began the longest blockade in recorded history, one that would ultimately claim the lives of nearly three-quarters of a million people. At the center of the besieged city stood a converted palace that housed the world's largest collection of seeds-more than 250,000 samples hand-collected over two decades from all over the globe by world-famous explorer, geneticist, and dissident Nikolai Vavilov, who had recently been disappeared by the Soviet government. After attempts to evacuate the priceless collection failed and supplies dwindled amongst the three million starving citizens, the employes at the Plant Institute were left with a terrible choice. Should they save the collection? Or themselves? These were not just any seeds. The botanists believed they could be bred into heartier, disease-resistant, and more productive varieties suited for harsh climates, therefore changing the future of food production and preventing famines like those that had plagued their countrymen before. But protecting the seeds was no idle business. The scientists rescued potato samples under enemy fire, extinguished bombs landing on the seed bank's roof, and guarded the collection from scavengers, the bitter cold, and their own hunger. Then in the war's eleventh hour, Nazi plunderers presented a new threat to the collection... Drawing from previously unseen sources, award-winning journalist Simon Parkin-who has "an inimitable capacity to find the human pulse in the underbelly of war" (The Spectator)-tells the incredible true story of the botanists who held their posts at the Plant Institute during the 872-day siege and the remarkable sacrifices they made in the name of science"--cProvided by publisher.10aVavilov, N. I.q(Nikolaĭ Ivanovich),d1887-1943.10aIvanov, N. R.q(Nikolaĭ Rodionovich)10aBrücher, Heinz,d1915-1991.20aVsesoi︠u︡znyĭ institut rastenievodstva (Soviet Union) 0aBotanical specimensxCollection and preservationxHistoryy20th century. 0aWorld War, 1939-1945xDestruction and pillagezSoviet Union. 0aSeed bankszRussia FederationzSaint PetersburgxHistory. 0aBotanistszSoviet UnionvBiography. 0aSaint Petersburg (Russia)xHistoryySiege, 1941-1944.08iOnline version:aParkin, Simon.tForbidden gardenbFirst Scribner hardcover edition.dNew York : Scribner, 2024z9781668007686w(DLC) 2024030975