The Botany of Desire A Plant'S-Eye View of the World

Pollan explores the coevolutionary history of humans and plants by tracing the historic interaction of four human desires with four different plants. Sweet through the apple; beauty in relation to the tulip; intoxication via the history of cannabis; control as reflected in potato history. I found something of interest and illumination in each section. I always appreciate Pollan's...more

Pollan explores the coevolutionary history of humans and plants by tracing the historic interaction of four human desires with four different plants. Sweet through the apple; beauty in relation to the tulip; intoxication via the history of cannabis; control as reflected in potato history. I found something of interest and illumination in each section. I always appreciate Pollan's journalistic-style research and need for first-hand exploration. Having previously read In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan's style has clearly evolved, perhaps coevolved in relation to his readers. His latter work is much smoother and more enjoyable than The Botany of Desire, as his almost conversational interaction with his reader has become more refined. Reading Pollan is like having a great and knowledgeable and entertaining friend join you for a long leisurely breakfast on the porch.   hide

Pollan flips the script in this one. Do humans simply cultivate plants, or do plants also cultivate humans? This very readable book takes on an informed and exciting adventure of the co-evolutionary relationship between humans and apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. Pollan is critical of monoculture, global capitalism, anthropocentrism, and the destructive acts of multinational...more

Pollan flips the script in this one. Do humans simply cultivate plants, or do plants also cultivate humans? This very readable book takes on an informed and exciting adventure of the co-evolutionary relationship between humans and apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. Pollan is critical of monoculture, global capitalism, anthropocentrism, and the destructive acts of multinational corporations, and supportive of everyday acts of organic gardening and biodiversity. Each section pulled me in. An excellent read.   hide

rather different spin on the interactions between plants and humanity and how some plant species have benefitted from properties that humanity finds desirable...not sure i fully understand/ agree with the hidden agenda hypothesis of the plants - that they purposefully evolved certain properties to propagate their existence by being attractive to humans...but i love the way Pollan structures...more

rather different spin on the interactions between plants and humanity and how some plant species have benefitted from properties that humanity finds desirable...not sure i fully understand/ agree with the hidden agenda hypothesis of the plants - that they purposefully evolved certain properties to propagate their existence by being attractive to humans...but i love the way Pollan structures the evidence and his arguments taking in all sides   hide

I loved this book. While I take issue with some of Pollan's description of plant "designs", cleverly utilizing the humans who use the plants, I still appreciate his writing style. I enjoyed the first two chapters- the ones involving the history of man and the apple, and the history of man and the tulip- the most of all.

This was a promising read, as I'm interested in both the subjects mentioned in the title. But in chapter one, The Apple -- enough already about Johnny Appleseed! And how can it be true that apples defined sweetness for early N.American settlers, while at the same time most applies produced unpalatable fruit that was used for cider rather than eating? I suspect that by the end of this book, I...more

This was a promising read, as I'm interested in both the subjects mentioned in the title. But in chapter one, The Apple -- enough already about Johnny Appleseed! And how can it be true that apples defined sweetness for early N.American settlers, while at the same time most applies produced unpalatable fruit that was used for cider rather than eating? I suspect that by the end of this book, I will not count myself a fan of Mr. Pollan's work. In the first chapter he's already making free with the facts to serve his thesis.   hide

Just finished the first chapter (Apple) and learned about Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman). Started reading the book about the same time as the PBS NOVA feature based on the book was aired. The writing is good, but the author too often repeats the somewhat misleading claim that plants manipulate us as much as we manipulate them.

I have listened to the Audible version of this book while driving. As a result I would listen to some chapters several times, and each time a different juicy detail jumped at me. The 4 chapters - about the potato, tulip, Marijuana and apple (not in that order) - are a fascinating walk between global history and personal history of the author with his musings and scientific tidbits...more

I have listened to the Audible version of this book while driving. As a result I would listen to some chapters several times, and each time a different juicy detail jumped at me. The 4 chapters - about the potato, tulip, Marijuana and apple (not in that order) - are a fascinating walk between global history and personal history of the author with his musings and scientific tidbits thrown in. The opening chapter about apples alone is worth buyng the book, with the close look Michal Pollan takes at the Johnny Appleseed myth.   hide

This book can either be ridiculously exciting or terribly boring, depending on how interested you are in the book's subject: the interaction (yep) betwen plants and humans and other animals, particularly with the four plants that the author showcases (apple, tulip, cannabis, and potato).I found most of the book to be quite interesting but chose to skim parts of some of the less-exciting sections....more

This book can either be ridiculously exciting or terribly boring, depending on how interested you are in the book's subject: the interaction (yep) betwen plants and humans and other animals, particularly with the four plants that the author showcases (apple, tulip, cannabis, and potato).I found most of the book to be quite interesting but chose to skim parts of some of the less-exciting sections. I can easily imagine that some people would find this book utterly boring, but I happened to find most of it to be quite interesting. (I took a leap to this book after reading the slightly different book 'In Defense of Food' by this author.)   hide

This is an interesting read, although I agree with other reviewers that it doesn't quite do what it sets out to do, tell the story from the plants point of view. Never mind, the story of how these common plants evolved to their current state is fascinating. I have always struggled to understand the tulip mania in Holland in the 17th Century, but when he compared it to our current mania for sport,...more

This is an interesting read, although I agree with other reviewers that it doesn't quite do what it sets out to do, tell the story from the plants point of view. Never mind, the story of how these common plants evolved to their current state is fascinating. I have always struggled to understand the tulip mania in Holland in the 17th Century, but when he compared it to our current mania for sport, it suddenly made sense to me. I thought the story of marajuana, particularly how it has adapted to current mad conditions since the 80s in the US was fascinating.   hide