The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
by: Michael Pollan
List Price: $15.00
Prices subject to change.
Price: $10.20
You Save: $4.80 (32%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Amazon.com Review:
Working in his garden one day, Michael Pollan hit pay dirt in the form of an idea: do plants, he wondered, use humans as much as we use them? While the question is not entirely original, the way Pollan examines this complex coevolution by looking at the natural world from the perspective of plants is unique. The result is a fascinating and engaging look at the true nature of domestication.
In making his point, Pollan focuses on the relationship between humans and four specific plants: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. He uses the history of John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) to illustrate how both the apple's sweetness and its role in the production of alcoholic cider made it appealing to settlers moving west, thus greatly expanding the plant's range. He also explains how human manipulation of the plant has weakened it, so that "modern apples require more pesticide than any other food crop." The tulipomania of 17th-century Holland is a backdrop for his examination of the role the tulip's beauty played in wildly influencing human behavior to both the benefit and detriment of the plant (the markings that made the tulip so attractive to the Dutch were actually caused by a virus). His excellent discussion of the potato combines a history of the plant with a prime example of how biotechnology is changing our relationship to nature. As part of his research, Pollan visited the Monsanto company headquarters and planted some of their NewLeaf brand potatoes in his garden--seeds that had been genetically engineered to produce their own insecticide. Though they worked as advertised, he made some startling discoveries, primarily that the NewLeaf plants themselves are registered as a pesticide by the EPA and that federal law prohibits anyone from reaping more than one crop per seed packet. And in a interesting aside, he explains how a global desire for consistently perfect French fries contributes to both damaging monoculture and the genetic engineering necessary to support it.
Pollan has read widely on the subject and elegantly combines literary, historical, philosophical, and scientific references with engaging anecdotes, giving readers much to ponder while weeding their gardens.--Shawn Carkonen
Product Description:
Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a
similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?
Working in his garden one day, Michael Pollan hit pay dirt in the form of an idea: do plants, he wondered, use humans as much as we use them? While the question is not entirely original, the way Pollan examines this complex coevolution by looking at the natural world from the perspective of plants is unique. The result is a fascinating and engaging look at the true nature of domestication.
In making his point, Pollan focuses on the relationship between humans and four specific plants: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. He uses the history of John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) to illustrate how both the apple's sweetness and its role in the production of alcoholic cider made it appealing to settlers moving west, thus greatly expanding the plant's range. He also explains how human manipulation of the plant has weakened it, so that "modern apples require more pesticide than any other food crop." The tulipomania of 17th-century Holland is a backdrop for his examination of the role the tulip's beauty played in wildly influencing human behavior to both the benefit and detriment of the plant (the markings that made the tulip so attractive to the Dutch were actually caused by a virus). His excellent discussion of the potato combines a history of the plant with a prime example of how biotechnology is changing our relationship to nature. As part of his research, Pollan visited the Monsanto company headquarters and planted some of their NewLeaf brand potatoes in his garden--seeds that had been genetically engineered to produce their own insecticide. Though they worked as advertised, he made some startling discoveries, primarily that the NewLeaf plants themselves are registered as a pesticide by the EPA and that federal law prohibits anyone from reaping more than one crop per seed packet. And in a interesting aside, he explains how a global desire for consistently perfect French fries contributes to both damaging monoculture and the genetic engineering necessary to support it.
Pollan has read widely on the subject and elegantly combines literary, historical, philosophical, and scientific references with engaging anecdotes, giving readers much to ponder while weeding their gardens.--Shawn Carkonen
Product Description:
Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a
similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?
Alternate Versions:
Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category:
- Books » Specialty Stores » Custom Stores » Qualifying Textbooks » General AAS
- Books » Subjects » Outdoors & Nature » Environment » Ecology
- Books » Subjects » Professional & Technical » Professional Science » Biological Sciences » Botany
- Books » Subjects » Science » Biological Sciences » Botany » General
- Books » Subjects » Science » Biological Sciences » Botany » General AAS
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Makes Botony Very Interesting
This is a great book, that goes very well with the other books Michael Pollan has written (In Defense of Food and The Omnivores Dilemma).A little different style from those two, as it takes the view from the plant, rather than our view of the plant.Great look at how the plants listed in the book (apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes) actually have a hold on us, as opposed to the other way around.
Great book, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in botany, gardening, ... Read More
Rating: - Botany of Desire
Wonderfully written book. Just scholarly enough to be serious as well as a good read.
Rating: - Informative, great read!
For anyone who interested about the way that humans are changing plants and agriculture to "better meet our desire" this is the book to read. For a term paper I wrote on GMOs, I was especially inspired by Pollan's chapter on the Potato. It is a great book, very interesting, and very fun to read!
Rating: - very honest supplier
This supplier made a error and sent the product for FREE!!!
Great experience.A++++
Rating: - Interested in horticulture? You'll love this book
A fascinating look at the evolution of plants and mankind's impact on that. It left me with a deeper and more complex appreciation for nature.
- Makes Botony Very InterestingThis is a great book, that goes very well with the other books Michael Pollan has written (In Defense of Food and The Omnivores Dilemma).A little different style from those two, as it takes the view from the plant, rather than our view of the plant.Great look at how the plants listed in the book (apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes) actually have a hold on us, as opposed to the other way around.
Great book, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in botany, gardening, ... Read More
- Botany of DesireWonderfully written book. Just scholarly enough to be serious as well as a good read.
- Informative, great read!For anyone who interested about the way that humans are changing plants and agriculture to "better meet our desire" this is the book to read. For a term paper I wrote on GMOs, I was especially inspired by Pollan's chapter on the Potato. It is a great book, very interesting, and very fun to read!
- very honest supplierThis supplier made a error and sent the product for FREE!!!
Great experience.A++++
- Interested in horticulture? You'll love this bookA fascinating look at the evolution of plants and mankind's impact on that. It left me with a deeper and more complex appreciation for nature.
