The Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice

In the summer of 1941, German troops surrounded Leningrad with a plan to besiege the Russian city and starve its citizens into submission. So began the longest blockade in recorded history. By conservative estimates, it would claim the lives of three-quarters of a million people--four times the number killed in the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima combined. Most died by starvation.

At that time, the world's largest collection of seeds and plants were stored in a converted palace building in the city center. Hand-collected during the previous two decades under the leadership of the world-famous explorer Nikolai Vavilov, the Plant Institute represented the greatest living library of plant matter ever assembled, more than a quarter of a million seeds from every continent. But as the siege wore on, attempts to evacuate this priceless collection failed. Trapped in the city with dwindling supplies, the botanists faced a terrible decision: should they distribute the seeds to the city's starving population, or preserve them in the hopes that future scientists might use them to breed crops and prevent future famine?

Drawing from previously unseen primary sources, The Forbidden Garden tells for the first time the story of the botanists who remained at the Plant Institute during the darkest days of the blockade, many of whom sacrificed their lives in service to their mission. As climate change, wars, and supply chain issues impact food security in today's times, this fascinating story remains as relevant and urgent as ever.