03897cam a22004938i 4500 23761844 MeVbMML 20240919114329.0 240703s2024 nyu b 001 0deng 2024030974 9781668007662 (hardcover) 9781668065778 (softcover) 9781668007686 (ebook) DLC eng rda DLC pcc e-ur--- e-ru--- e-gx--- D764.3.L4 P37 2024 940.54/21721 23/eng/20240703 Parkin, Simon, author. 18323 The forbidden garden : the botanists of besieged Leningrad and their impossible choice / Simon Parkin. Botanists of besieged Leningrad and their impossible choice First Scribner softcover edition. Oct 15, 2024 New York : Scribner, 2024. pages cm text txt rdacontent unmediated n rdamedia volume nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references and index. "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"-- Provided by publisher. Vavilov, N. I. (Nikolaĭ Ivanovich), 1887-1943. 18324 Ivanov, N. R. (Nikolaĭ Rodionovich) 18325 Brücher, Heinz, 1915-1991. 18326 Vsesoi︠u︡znyĭ institut rastenievodstva (Soviet Union) 18327 Botanical specimens Collection and preservation History 20th century. 18328 World War, 1939-1945 Destruction and pillage Soviet Union. 18329 Seed banks Russia Federation Saint Petersburg History. 18330 Botanists Soviet Union Biography. 18331 Saint Petersburg (Russia) History Siege, 1941-1944. 18332 Online version: Parkin, Simon. Forbidden garden First Scribner hardcover edition. New York : Scribner, 2024 9781668007686 (DLC) 2024030975 7 cbc orignew 1 ecip 20 y-gencatlg ddc BOOK 30068 30068 ddc 0 0 ABELJ ABELJ NF 2024-09-19 18.99 0 940.54 PARK 66524 2024-09-19 2024-09-19 BOOK 1