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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Amazing plans of plants:
First of all, if you have never read any of Michael Pollan's books, you are missing out. I would suggest reading The Omnivore's Dilemma first, but this book is very good also. It is a look at how instead of us conquering and "domesticating" four kinds of plants, they have in fact figured out how to use us to propagate their species. The section on apples is my favorite because it seems like this plant completely reinvented itself just so we would enjoy it and spread it around. I have only two problems... more info
A fascinating discussion of the relationship between plants & humans:
Any fans of Henry Hobhouse's Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind and Seeds of Wealth: Five Plants That Made Men Rich will enjoy this book. His conversational writing style and inclusion of interesting anecdotes reminded me of John Mc Phee's Oranges.
Fantastic:
Botany of Desire is a fantastic book. I don't feel that it is as strong as Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemna but it is a great read none the less and tackles the subject matter with top notch story telling. If you are at all curious, DIY minded or just inclined to cook and do a little gardening you'll be inspired to try some new things. Really an essential read for anyone who enjoyed Omnivore's Dilemna. I'd give it a full five stars if it had a little more actionable information and the fact that Pollan himself... more info
Sensuous Read!:
What a captivating book! Michael Pollan is exquisitely articulate! Botany of Desire is: factually engaging, biologically fascinating, historically and sociologically relevant yet spiritually profound. Michael has a way of telling the story weaving together multiple subject matter. It is deliciously sensual yet essentially pragmatic. Michael challenges our thinking, throwing the gauntlet down for us to fundamentally reorient the way we think about our place on this planet and as humans, our relationship to... more info
