YA-- Twentieth-century technology has caused us to accept the use of synthetics so completely that we have forgotten the natural elements. This excellent, comprehensive book will help overcome this omission as it traces the use of plants in cosmetics, foods, buildings, furniture, medicine, transportation, and recreation. Easy to read and entertaining, it has practical, scientific information along with beautiful drawings and/or photographs of the plants. The numerous pictures are well explained and relate to the adjacent text. An eye-catching feature is that information on short topics is presented in boxes, enabling readers to learn about a specific subject quickly. The British authorship is evident from the spellings, but the writing is accessible. The content is not limited to Britain--examples come from virtually every continent. The detailed index gives the page references under both the common and scientific names. A competently done book that will fill a gap in many high school collections.--Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.