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""An astonishing achievement; I was riveted and could barely put it down."" --Jonathan Dimbleby, author of Endgame 1944 and Operation Barbaross ""A beautifully-written account of one of the most extraordinary and little-known episodes of the Second World War--a scientific feat and act of collective self-sacrifice the consequences of which continue to be felt today."" --Adam Higginbotham, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Chernobyl and Challenger ""Parkin has unearthed a quite extraordinary tale of a man lost in time, Nikolai Vavilov, a world-renowned botanist whose life and work is a metaphor for the tragedy and mendaciousness of the Soviet system under Stalin. . . . Determined to protect his legacy, not knowing that he would perish in Stalin's gulags, Vavilov's protégés faced a stark choice: Protect and save the vast collection for science, or, bow to official pressure, and allow the seedbank to feed a starving population. All whilst German bombs dropped around them. It is a thrilling and life-affirming story."" --Iain MacGregor, fellow of the Royal Historical Society and author of The Lighthouse of Stalingrad ""An astonishing achievement. Simon Parkin has turned a few lines in the history books about Soviet botanists and their unique seed collection during the Nazi siege of Leningrad into a riveting story about the loyalties of scientists in wartime. Should the botanists protect the seeds for science and humanity as their famous disappeared leader, Nikolai Vavilov, would have wanted, or eat them to stay alive? Their suffering and sacrifice brings into focus the key role scientists play today in challenging the new crop of anti-science politicians."" --Peter Pringle, author of The Murder of Nikolai Vavilov and Food, Inc ""Sometimes, in history's darkest hours, people of principle and vision find their way to astonishing acts of heroism. Simon Parkin's crisp, vivid prose thrusts us into the harrowing siege of Leningrad during World War II to tell a story of almost unfathomable selflessness. Inspired by their charismatic leader, Nikolai Vavilov, scientists at the world's most important seed bank risked--and gave--their lives to safeguard their collections for the good of future generations. The Forbidden Garden reveals, in harrowing detail, the terrible damage that ideology paired with violence can inflict on human beings and on their cultural and scientific achievements. Against this painful backdrop, Parkin offers a soaring account of the courage, generosity, and love of which humanity is capable in its finest moments. The Forbidden Garden is a crucial, humbling book."" --Victoria Johnson, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic ""What an impressive achievement this book is. Moving, mordant, crushingly sad, and often horrifying, The Forbidden Garden is a useful reminder of how much human drama there remains to excavate from the ruins of the Second World War. Indeed, Simon Parkin has proved himself to be a human dowsing rod for such stories--and, in the meantime, become one of my favorite writers of literary-historical narrative alive."" --Tom Bissell, journalist and author of Apostle and The Disaster Artist ""A hugely moving piece of work, full of unforgettable images and moments, and centered on a compelling drama. The Forbidden Garden is fascinating, vivid, and gripping book that will leave you feeling as though you have lived through the siege of Leningrad."" --Henry Hemming, author of Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland ""A gripping, harrowing history of science amid war and starvation, The Forbidden Garden recovers in astonishing detail the efforts of Soviet botanists to maintain their country's most precious seed collection through the siege of Leningrad. It is an unforgettable tale of devotion to science, seeds, and the future."" --Professor Helen Anne Curry, historian of science and author of Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction

"""A gripping, harrowing history of science amid war and starvation, The Forbidden Garden recovers in astonishing detail the efforts of Soviet botanists to maintain their country's most precious seed collection through the siege of Leningrad. It is an unforgettable tale of devotion to science, seeds, and the future."" --Professor Helen Anne Curry, historian of science and author of Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction"

"""A hugely moving piece of work, full of unforgettable images and moments, and centered on a compelling drama. The Forbidden Garden is fascinating, vivid, and gripping book that will leave you feeling as though you have lived through the siege of Leningrad."" --Henry Hemming, author of Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland ""What an impressive achievement this book is. Moving, mordant, crushingly sad, and often horrifying, The Forbidden Garden is a useful reminder of how much human drama there remains to excavate from the ruins of the Second World War. Indeed, Simon Parkin has proved himself to be a human dowsing rod for such stories--and, in the meantime, ? become one of my favorite writers of literary-historical narrative alive."" --Tom Bissell, journalist and author of Apostle and The Disaster Artist ""A gripping, harrowing history of science amid war and starvation, The Forbidden Garden recovers in astonishing detail the efforts of Soviet botanists to maintain their country's most precious seed collection through the siege of Leningrad. It is an unforgettable tale of devotion to science, seeds, and the future."" --Professor Helen Anne Curry, historian of science and author of Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction"

Author Information

Simon Parkin is an award-winning British journalist and author. A contributing writer for The New Yorker, he has also written for The Guardian, The Observer, The New York Times, Harper's Magazine, New Statesmen, the BBC, and other publications. He is the author of The Island of Extraordinary Captives (winner of the Wingate Literary Prize), A Game of Birds and Wolves, and Death by Video Game, and his work has been featured in The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He was named a finalist in the Foreign Press Association Media Awards and is the recipient of two awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. Parkin lives in West Sussex, England.

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