This history by Harkness (Modern Garden Roses), which collects paintings, illustrations and rare books from Royal Horticultural Society, is a big (11"×12.5"), copiously illustrated tour of the world of roses that is handsome enough to sit on a coffee table but interesting enough for a reader's lap. Each section contains informative, conversational text interspersed with, and then followed by, 300 color illustrations beautifully reproduced in large scale. In the first section Harkness explains how, since they appeared between three and 20 million years ago, roses have played important roles in diverse societies throughout the Northern hemisphere. It is a necessarily broad treatment flawed by a confusing layout where a rose is sometimes pictured on one page but not discussed until pages later, but Harkness is an engaging writer who delivers serious science between slices of historical trivia. The second and third sections, which describe the historical evolution of the rose and its breeding in cultivation, delve deeper and put the artwork related to each topic on the facing page. Gardeners will learn which of the increasingly fashionable "old" roses to grow and where to grow them. There is plenty for non-gardening readers to enjoy as well, including a complete list of the stunning illustrations. (Oct.)
