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

published	May 28th 2002 by Random House Trade Paperbacks
first published	2001
binding	Paperback
isbn	0375760393 (isbn13: 9780375760396)
pages	304
description	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 th...more [close] 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 [close]
date added	12-19-06 edit book

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Tony rated it:

05/11/08

Read in April, 2008

The author begins this book by focusing on the bees circulating in his garden, pollinating the plants. He recognizes that the flowers have gone out of their way to develop trends/tricks that make them more appealing to the main pollinator of our age. Of course, the lack of agency in the bee (after all, it is 'programmed' to do this) is ignored when humans go apesh%t over a different type of plant. The author makes us take a step back and recognize that when we spread a plant's genes far and wide...more The author begins this book by focusing on the bees circulating in his garden, pollinating the plants. He recognizes that the flowers have gone out of their way to develop trends/tricks that make them more appealing to the main pollinator of our age. Of course, the lack of agency in the bee (after all, it is 'programmed' to do this) is ignored when humans go apesh%t over a different type of plant. The author makes us take a step back and recognize that when we spread a plant's genes far and wide, we are really acting no differently from the buzzing bee. This insight starts a four part look at 4 different species that we have taken from one of many, to nature's elite: the apple; the tulip' the pot plant and the potato, specifically the Monsanto variety.

The potato comes last, and really for this section to be relevatory and groundbreaking, you need to NOT have head the Omnivore's Dilemma first, another one of his books which delves much more thoroughly on this subject. Sadly, this section actually makes me appreciate GM modified food, only because when you learn what a 'clean field' is, which is the normal growing conditions for Idaho spuds, GM really does manage to leap over what is an impossibly low bar set by our industrial agriculture. Also, you get to read about when a Monsanto executive actually utters the words: trust us. The author finds that as comical as every other human being on the planet.

But really, the other three sections describing how the apple was spread by Johnny Applesead as a way to get people loaded, the tulip crazy got crazy over a misfiring genetic 'break' which actually weakens the plant, and how pot's ability make you forget and take away the affective filter we constantly carry through our lives as a rational way to cope does the book really hum.

Pollan does what great authors do; makes you look at what you thought was common-place and restore your sense of wonder. Did you know that apples have to be grafted because the seeds are so amazingly diverse that your delicious tree that made the most mouth watering apples ever might produce progeny that you would sooner spit on than eat? Or how about the the uniformity of the tulip is broken by a viral infection which makes a unique pattern which gradually weakens the strain (the beautiful flower that got the Dutch so hot and bothered) until it fades away (very rock-star-esque if you ask me). Or how about how the drug war in America forced US pot growers underground, sent them to Amsterdam, and ended up crossing the two plants (sativa and indica) to produce these genetic freaks that only grow 2 feet tall, constantly flower and really need to be studied more because it turns out that some of the goofy side effects might be much more significant than we were lead to believe: or perhaps you want the human body to be able to remember every single face you see on the subway today and you want to be able to recall with crystal-clear vividness and clarity the pain of childbirth?

Perhaps the best compliment I can pay his book is made me want to put down roots so I can nurture a garden, a feeling I haven't had for a long time. ...less

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Ken-ichi rated it:

08/26/07

bookshelves: learning

Read in December, 2006

Wonderful, wonderful book, full of fantastic info and insights. My main critique of the book is Pollan's central conceit, and the language used to express it: plant species have domesticated humanity just as much as humanity has domesticated them. My problem is his constant insertion of agency into the process of evolution and mixing metaphors of individuals and of species. Flowers are not individually clever, and neither are species of flowers. Flowers do not manipulate bees in the same way th...more Wonderful, wonderful book, full of fantastic info and insights. My main critique of the book is Pollan's central conceit, and the language used to express it: plant species have domesticated humanity just as much as humanity has domesticated them. My problem is his constant insertion of agency into the process of evolution and mixing metaphors of individuals and of species. Flowers are not individually clever, and neither are species of flowers. Flowers do not manipulate bees in the same way that a botanist manipulates a flower species through artificial selection or genetic modification. Species do not have agency, the will to act. Only individuals have that, and individuals bees, potatoes, or water buffalo do not (to our knowledge), have the will to offer themselves up as willing partners to humanity.

Pollan draws an interesting distinction that I haven't encountered in my amateur meanderings between "wilderness" and "wildness." He uses "wilderness" in the sense of the Wilderness Act of 1964, "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." "Wildness," on the other hand, is anything that humans cannot control. As Bill McKibben famously pointed out, the atmosphere of our planet is no longer a wilderness, tainted as it is by the byproducts of our industry, but as every hurricane and tornado reminds us, it is still profoundly wild.

Pollan uses this distinction to emphasize that while all domestication is a destruction of wilderness, it is almost never an abolition of wildness. The gardener uses his sense of order not to control his plants absolutely, but to guide and shape their wildness in certain ways. He goes on to suggest that genetic engineering may violate this pact, that by attempting to guide evolution on such a basic level is a powerful new way to write wildness out of the equation. He also offers the counterpoint that current techniques for gene insertion are (sometimes literally) so scattershot as to yield results that are even less predictable that conventional breeding.

The topic of wilderness feeds into another interesting point, which is that "memory is the enemy of wonder" (168). He argues that cannabinoids like THC help us experience awe and wonder but forcing constant short term memory loss, and that meditation or physical exertion probably induce the same effect, making the view from a mountain peak infinitely more profound after having hiked to it instead of having driven.

Another insight he had about marijuana is that drugs could be considered the mutagens of culture. If one assumes a meme is like a gene, then a culture is like a genome. Memes are constantly recombining through thought and discourse (intercourse in both culture and biology), but genuinely new ideas are rare. At the risk of spreading a metaphor too thin, Pollan suggests that drugs could be thought of as mutagens, radiation nuking the genetic fundaments of culture, producing mostly irrelevant or deleterious nonsense, but now and again creating viable gems (149). Kind of a fun thought....less

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jeremy rated it:

(review of isbn 0375501290)

04/07/08

Read in April, 2008

michael pollan's writing is consistently lucid, entertaining, and thought-provoking. his thirst for reason and intellectual clarity is exemplified by both his exhaustive research and impassioned critique. non-fiction is rarely so captivating and invigorating as it as when wrought by pollan's hand.

the botany of desire explores humanity's symbiotic relationship to the natural world, focusing on four plant species which have enjoyed continued attention from generations of man (and civi...more michael pollan's writing is consistently lucid, entertaining, and thought-provoking. his thirst for reason and intellectual clarity is exemplified by both his exhaustive research and impassioned critique. non-fiction is rarely so captivating and invigorating as it as when wrought by pollan's hand.

the botany of desire explores humanity's symbiotic relationship to the natural world, focusing on four plant species which have enjoyed continued attention from generations of man (and civilization): apples, tulips, cannabis, and potatoes. pollan, while outlining the many characteristics that have made each of these species so desirous, posits that these plants have benefitted as much from us as we have from them. each of the chapters is ripe with both science and history, and serves as homage to the resilient, plentiful bounty which nature continues to offer, while serving also as cautionary tale of the deleterious effects our own hubris may reap.

as much a philosophical tract as it is a superb example of nature writing, the botany of desire inspires awe and wonder, rooting us in a reverence mostly neglected in today's over-industrialized, commodified world. indeed, it will be hard to ever again consider these four species as i had before reading this book. pollan's love of gardening, and of the cultivation of life in general, is wildly contagious, and urges us to reconsider our own relationships to the natural world. a most fantastic book from an exceptional writer.

"this book tells a different kind of story about man and nature, one that aims to put us back in the great reciprocal web that is life on earth. my hope is that by the time you close its covers, things outside (and inside) will look a little different, so that when you see an apple tree across the road or a tulip across the table, it won't appear quite so alien, so other. seeing these plants instead as willing partners in an intimate and reciprocal relationship with us means looking at ourselves a little differently, too..."
~from the introduction

...less

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Valerie rated it:

09/26/07

bookshelves: greek-ecstatic

Read in September, 2007

the premise--"a plant's eye view of the world"—could sound like a gimmick. he asks, Why would plants go to this trouble? Why would they evolve to affect humans in the specific ways that they have? Why would an apple be sweet? And be able to be pressed into cider to get us drunk? What needs of ours did the tulip evolve to gratify?

If I'd thought about it at all before, I think I'd subconsciously assumed that this stuff is incidental, that the plant is unaware of people, that it e...more

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John rated it:

04/14/08

bookshelves: thought-provoking

Read in April, 2008

There is a great amount of information in this book. At no point did I really feel inclined to put the book down, in that sense it was so well written it engaged me. Despite this, it was a bit to immersed in popular culture. As much as that can be interesting. I eventually get sick of even thoughtful commentary about the stuff. When it came to the part about Mcdonalds I wanted to throw up.. and the author, pollan, doesn't even try to make mcdonalds look bad. He simply states a few facts, its pre...more

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Bill rated it:

06/19/08

This book is mind-bending. First of all, Pollan’s prose is so beautiful that it is a pleasure to read. But then, he takes that fluid prose, and tells the story of how people and plants co-evolve, through three plants: apples, tulips and marijuana.

The idea that we co-evolve with plants is, in itself, one of those perspective shifts that left me disoriented and tumbled upside down until Pollan gently set me down in a new paradigm. Think about it. When human beings arrived on the scene, plan...more

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Aeyoung rated it:

10/03/07

Read in October, 2007

Four common plants and I didn't know they each held such a rich history. Well, I was kind of familiar with marijuana's development (not from personal toking, honest Asian, but from being surrounded by tokers - hey, it was Oregon) and that it was completely villified in the "just say no" era of drug awareness education. The chapters on the apple, tulip, and potato offer cautionary evidence on the danger of destroying diversity in the name of commerce. Dratted industry and their shipp...more

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emily rated it:

11/27/07

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: people who eat

i enjoyed this book, but i didn't find it as interesting as _the omnivore's dilemma_. but then, you can't win 'em all, can you? as with _the OD_, the last chapter (potatoes) was the most fascinating, making me feel like i really never want to eat potatoes again, unless i know their origin.

this is a little off the subject, but the more i read the more i want to leave the united states. what is wrong with us here? seriously. i mean, we let corporations like monsanto use us as guinea pigs so t...more

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Frances rated it:

03/13/08

Read in March, 2008

This was a really great read, and I've never really liked Botany or had much of a green thumb. Pollan covers botany well, but he also brings in history, philosophy, neuroscience, economics and many other fields of interest in this study of 4 plants: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. As far as non-fiction books go, I can't imagine it being any better.

Many other reviewers have complained that he did not stick to his argument that plants, by catering to human desires, actually manipula...more

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Jenn rated it:

01/27/08

Read in January, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Summer rated it:

08/23/07

bookshelves: 2007

In any work of nonfiction that is heavy on facts, the author should provide definite sources for each of his statements, especially if he is writing a popular science work. That way, when the reader slogs through a chapter on how groovy marijuana is, she won't be confronted with an absurd factoid like the one about witches using drugged dildos to "fly" and spend the rest of the book wondering where in hell he dragged up that trash.

This book is terribly written, and I'm honestly sur...more

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Deborah rated it:

04/10/08

Read in April, 2008

In this book, Michael Pollan recounts the incredible journey of modern apple, tulip, pot, and potato plants, which differ significantly from their wild ancestors due to their co-evolution with humans. Altering key characteristics over time, yielding to human desire, these plants have ensured their multiplication and the spread of their genes.

Pollan challenges us to view these botanical success stories from the opposite perspective, as well. In this line of reasoning, it is human culture ...more

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Mason rated it:

01/30/08

Read in December, 2006

Pollan, a professor of writing and avid gardener, looks at how plants have used humans as an evolutionary tool, playing to our desires in order to be more successful species or to increase their “fitness.” Specifically, Pollan examines four human desires: sweetness (apple), beauty (tulip), intoxication (marijuana) and control (potato). The intro is really good, but the excitement it generated didn’t really pan out. There is a lot of history in this book, including a lot about Johnny Apples...more

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Paul rated it:

01/06/08

bookshelves: about-nature

Read in January, 2002

This is an entertaining account of four plants - the apple, the tulip, the marijuana plant, and the potato - and how they have co-evolved with human beings. The story of each plant highlights a different aspect of the relationship between people and plants, and how plants beguile us into being their "bumblebees." Each story also illustrates a botanical concept or two, a nice side-benefit if you weren't paying attention in science classes in school.

I learned about centers of diversity...more

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Charlie rated it:

04/05/07

recommends it for: apple lovers

Four sections: apple, tulip, potato, marajuana. Plants from four different phases. Not just how we manipulate them but how their "desire" to survive and propagate plays on us human's desires. Pretty neat concept.

Not merely because I am apple crazy do I say the apple section was RIVITING.

On the Tulip, I think many people know the general outline of the story he chose to highlight (Holland's tulip market crash mania) so that wasn't quite so great, but well written.

The potat...more

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Steve rated it:

07/22/08

Read in August, 2007

Actually I would give this book about 3.5 to 3.75 stars. I confess this was one of those books I handed out as gifts based on reviews in the Economist and/or NPR and other sources. I think that in terms of content, it is a laudable book.

However, the book is more larded with fluff than I expected. I did skim pages in which the author goes off in paroxysms of delight about plants and his garden. I am not a gardener, I think gardeners would be much more interested in his descriptions than I am....more

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Elfscribe rated it:

12/09/07

Read in March, 2007

recommends it for: anyone who likes history, natural science

In highly readable prose, Michael Pollan explores the ways four different plants have influenced human culture and history and in turn been influenced by human manipulation. These plants are the apple tree, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In four different essays,he defines our relationship with these plants in terms of how they fulfill a human desire: apples = sweetness, tulip = beauty, marijuana = intoxication, and potato = control. The stories of these plants are absolutely fascinating ...more

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Sarah rated it:

10/27/07

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in October, 2007

I found this book when I was walking Pip. It was just there, on the ground, and so I picked it up.

This is a really good read, a fast read, a well-written read, about plants and our relationship with them. The author weaves a Dionysus-Apollo metaphor throughout that he almost pulls off without a hitch and asks the question, "Do we domesticate plants or do they domesticate us?"

He uses four plants to illuminate this relationship: the apple, the tulip, marijuana (the marijuana?), a...more

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Jennifer rated it:

09/21/07

bookshelves: conscious-living, nonfiction

Read in September, 2007

Michael Pollan constantly forces me to rethink my relationship with nature and society. He writes without ever feeling dogmatic, yet is able to shed some harsh light on aspects of our relationship with nature and each other that we shouldn't ignore.

The book is broken up into four different plants and an associated human desire that helped shape them; the apple:sweetness, the tulip: beauty, marijuana: intoxication, and the potato: control.

Of course, none of these plants were truly shaped...more

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Danae rated it:

06/02/08

Read in June, 2008

I've really liked Michael Pollan's other books, and probably would have given this book at least 4 stars if it had been by any other author, but I don't feel like it was as good as his others, and I'm not sure it really answered the question he asked at the beginning--whether plants use people as much as people use plants. It was, however, full of extremely interesting information and anecdotes, and overall I did enjoy it. The book is divided into four sections, each devoted to a different pla...more

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