"From his green awakening as a young boy, collecting butterflies and beetles, to his leadership of the famed Missouri Botanical Garden, Peter Raven tells the extraordinary story of his encounter with plants and other organisms. An incredible life journey takes him from Madagascar to China and countless places in between as he searches to understand the diverse species that form our web of life. In clear and understandable prose, Raven shows the beauty and complexity of nature and the tragedy of its mass extinctions. It is a human story that also carries a timely warning."

Jerry Brown, former governor of California

"Pull up a chair for a front row seat to the birth of humanity’s realization that our future is dependent on a fragile and finite biosphere and to the story of the farsighted science leader who turned a Midwestern U.S. botanical garden into a global institution for environmental sustainability."

Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences

"This book recounts in fascinating detail the ways in which his long, varied life and deeply inquisitive mind have allowed Peter Raven to contribute so  much, both to his colleagues and to science generally.”

Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, authors of The Population Bomb

“The book’s range is wide for a text that is only about 350 pages. . .  Throughout the autobiography, Raven recounts in straightforward prose a history of developments, donors and doers. . . . For a St. Louis reader, the book is a reminder of how the botanical garden evolved over the decades.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“To read Driven by Nature is to be inspired by the intimate journey of a passionate man who has left an indelible mark on the fields of botany and conservation biology. . . Driven by Nature is a testament to how an ambitious and wonderful person has positively affected the people around and the world at large.”

Artemisia

"Here we have a major success story based on a love of natural history from the age of seven and a career that never lost that devotion, but which produced one of the most influential botanists of the past century."

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland News

"Vivid."

St. Louis Magazine

"Aptly titled, beautifully written, and inspirational. . . Raven’s autobiography delivers both historical perspective and thought-provoking reading."
 

Madroño

"The book is written in an engaging style, and Raven’s plainspoken warmth and humor comes through clearly. It is suffused with anecdotes that give color and texture to the formative events in his life. I highly recommend it to all those who wish to know more about the person behind so many profound contributions to our field. To paraphrase his point about philanthropists, it can be inspiring to learn how botanical legends are, after all, just people."

Systematic Botany