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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.45
EAN: 9780375760396
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0375760393
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: May 28, 2002
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: May 28, 2002
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Editorial Review:
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?
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I didn't get drawn in like I did his other two books, but I learned a lot. That's what I can count on with Pollan.
Rating: -
As a botanist myself, I applaud any book that leads others into the green world around us. As has been mentioned in other reviews, however, the accuracy of much of what he says - from a scientific point of view - is to be taken with a grain of salt. Horticulture and agriculture, for example, are intertwined in a way that is misleading.
His forthcoming PBS special of the same name should be interesting and enjoyable for all of those who love gardening, taking walks in the park, and stimulating to those who simply like educational programs in general.
From a botanist's standpoint though, his "argument" that some species use or manipulate people to ensure their own survival is nothing new - it's been argued and pointed out for over 100 years (at least) by biologists and ethnobotanists.
I'll enjoy watching it as well, and I encourage other interested in nature to read his book and watch the PBS special!
Rating:  -
The product was great, exactly what I needed, the shipping got a little mixed up, and I couldn't read it before my test but no big deal only missed one question! Thank you for the quick fix!
Rating: -
This is the Micahael Pollan book to read. It reads like a fairy tale, full of luscious information about ordinary things you will never see in the same light as before reading his book. The tulip part is fascinating and explains why tulips appear in so many fifteenth and sixteenth century paintings especially from Dutch and Flemish regions. I have lent the book out because it seems a shame to keep all this wonderful information to myself. If text books in school were this interesting no one would drop out. It's like a literary dessert, and anyone with a good imagination will love it.
Rating: -
for the sensuous gardner. A wonderful book; well written & well resaearched. Informally informative. beautiful.
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