Frances's review
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
by Michael Pollan
Frances's review
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
Frances's review
rating:
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 manipulate humans into doing their bidding, which is basically helping them spread across the globe. Those reviewers are right, but it's just not a big deal to me. This book is more about human and plant interaction, and that's interesting in itself.
The chapter on apples is by far the most interesting, but each chapter really brought something new and different to the table. The tulip chapter bored me, but I already knew a bit about "tulipomania." I found the marijuana chapter lacking ...more
Many other reviewers have complained that he did not stick to his argument that plants, by catering to human desires, actually manipulate humans into doing their bidding, which is basically helping them spread across the globe. Those reviewers are right, but it's just not a big deal to me. This book is more about human and plant interaction, and that's interesting in itself.
The chapter on apples is by far the most interesting, but each chapter really brought something new and different to the table. The tulip chapter bored me, but I already knew a bit about "tulipomania." I found the marijuana chapter lacking ...more
