John Reader > Quotes

“It is remarkable how often the first interpretations of new evidence have confirmed the preconceptions of its discoverers.”
― John Reader, Missing Links: In Search of Human Origins

“other spoils of the Spanish Conquest at the end of the sixteenth century and thereafter spread fitfully, only becoming fully established as a staple food of Europe's rural and working families during the nineteenth century.”
― John Reader, Potato

“Certainly the anonymous author of a long article in The Quarterly Review was lifted to heights of eloquence by the scale and complexities of simply feeding the city:”
― John Reader, Cities

“That these commonplace and down-to-earth tubers should be a vital component of humanity's venture into space is a
sublime vindication of their worth. Trillions of dollars, billions of man-hours and the success of humanity's most ambitious and complex enterprise will ultimately depend upon the astronauts' ability to grow potatoes.”
― John Reader, Potato

“Once established for a few generations, civilization might seem durable enough to last forever. But the skin of enlightened self-interest is very delicate, easily eroded, and the human capacity for unspeakable barbarity lies just beneath its surface.”
― John Reader, Africa: A Biography of the Continent

“Neither cereals nor pulses can match its generosity: the potato is the best all-round bundle of nutrition known.”
― John Reader, Potato