This is a work that broadens your horizons, gives one food for thought. It is much more than a learning process about the rose, more about how it connects with life itself. The rose as a symbol and as a tool in many diverse cultures. The geography covered in the essays is wide, yet not as wide as the subject matter. Consider the topics incorporated in this work: human rights, astrology, medicine, religion, literature(classics & poetry), metaphysics, culture, and mysticism. There is something for everyone! Not only are ideas discussed in depth, we also learn about important individuals of whom we may have known little about or nothing at all. Although the rose is used often as a bridge, so to speak, we still, when done, will have a thorough appreciation of the rose in all its aspects as never before. If you are not interested in learning, than rose lore is not for you. If you are, beyond the knowledge is the essays construction and vocabulary which makes the listener sometimes just glide through chapters irrespective of time. These essays are best heard in order of your personal preference. You're going to have to make your own table of contents, though. You might skip a chapter overall, but not much more. The narrators were well chosen as they complement one another. Peter Millrose(aptly named) makes one feel very much at ease as his voice well represents "everyman". Monty Taylors' erudite pronunciation is so perfect it almost overrides the material. And Frankie Hutton's voice has both a soothing quality and one of a university professor that you wouldn't mind staying after class with for extra credit.