[Subdue] The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan - 3 Stars

[Nicole]

This was a very interesting book, I very much enjoyed it. The reasoning behind my three stars rather than four is because a) I wish the book had been longer and b) I sometimes felt that the stories could have been told more linearly - though they did all circle round in a way that made sense and ultimately made connections I didn't anticipate, so maybe this is an unnecessary complaint.

Pollan tells the story of four plants and how their "domestication" has ultimately made them much more successful organisms from a biological standpoint. It was a very interesting point that I thought - ironically - was best illustrated by his comments on dogs vs. wolves (species not focused on in the books). We tend to idealize the wolf as a wild creature, outside of civilization and therefore a pure expression of nature - but biologically, the dog is a much more successful species. There are only thousands of wolves in North American compared to millions of dogs, a species that has adapted to meet the needs of humans. This concepts is expanded out to discussions on the apple, tulips, cannabis, and potatoes.

Each section was interesting and had new information that I thought compelling. Pollan also discussing concerns of monocrop culture, lack of biodiversity in our food crops and concerns with genetically engineered foods - all without being pushy or preachy.

Would absolutely recommend as a quick read to those interested in food and/or cannabis (as that section read slightly different and, even though I'm not a user, I felt was very interesting and insightful from a biology aspect).