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Title: The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World
Author: Michael Pollan
Genre: Botany/sociology
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: A description of how we have shaped plants and they have shaped us, explored through the examples of the apple, the tulip, the marijuana plant, and the potato.
Thoughts: This is a meandering, dreamy book that makes some interesting points, slowly. I was somewhat familiar with the history of the potato and the tulip--less so regarding apples and pot. You get a fair amount of historical information. It's often organized rather idiosyncratically, with quite a lot of musings on the Apollonian versus the Dionysian approaches to life and beauty.
There's a strong liberal slant on most of this, especially regarding the background information on the drug war and genetically modified foods. This isn't a weakness--just something to be aware of. He makes some very good, well supported points. Particularly poignant was the farmer who keeps a small patch of his potatoes unfertilized/bug-dusted/so on, because while he believes the poisons are flushed through and broken down by the time the potatoes are dug up for the consumer, he's afraid of poisoning his family with fresh-dug potatoes that have had so many chemicals dumped on them.
I can see why Pollan is such a darling--he's incredibly readable, bringing dusty historical figures to life and simplifying complex issues to something that can be grappled with. But do expect the road to wander a bit on its way to its destination.
Author: Michael Pollan
Genre: Botany/sociology
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: A description of how we have shaped plants and they have shaped us, explored through the examples of the apple, the tulip, the marijuana plant, and the potato.
Thoughts: This is a meandering, dreamy book that makes some interesting points, slowly. I was somewhat familiar with the history of the potato and the tulip--less so regarding apples and pot. You get a fair amount of historical information. It's often organized rather idiosyncratically, with quite a lot of musings on the Apollonian versus the Dionysian approaches to life and beauty.
There's a strong liberal slant on most of this, especially regarding the background information on the drug war and genetically modified foods. This isn't a weakness--just something to be aware of. He makes some very good, well supported points. Particularly poignant was the farmer who keeps a small patch of his potatoes unfertilized/bug-dusted/so on, because while he believes the poisons are flushed through and broken down by the time the potatoes are dug up for the consumer, he's afraid of poisoning his family with fresh-dug potatoes that have had so many chemicals dumped on them.
I can see why Pollan is such a darling--he's incredibly readable, bringing dusty historical figures to life and simplifying complex issues to something that can be grappled with. But do expect the road to wander a bit on its way to its destination.
