Scan barcode
lee_nuhh's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
An interesting journey through different crops and what they have meant to mankind (and mankind to them) over centuries. Loved the sections on apples and cannabis, and the storytelling in general. Can't get enough of Michael Pollan!
avesmaria's review
4.0
This book, written before Pollan's more-famous "Omnivore's Dilemma," is captivating, wide-ranging, and a very interesting cultural study about the extent that plants have domesticated humanity, although I think his art history is a little under-researched and fuzzy. Although in the past I have found some of Pollan's writing a bit too snobbish and blind to reality, I think he has made incredibly important contributions to the public discourse on the nature of plants - specifically the ones we ingest - and he certainly belongs in the pantheon of modern science and nature writers. This book didn't disappoint. I filled the whole thing up with thoughts and annotations.
stephaniesteen73's review
3.0
A very intriguing story, but the writing wasn't nearly as good as his later works (Omnivore's Dilemma, etc.) Definitely learned a lot about the apple, tulip, potato and marijuana!
daumari's review
3.0
Figured I ought to read another Pollan, but most of his things were checked out (and the waitlist for Cooked was kind of absurd. Gonna put that one off for a while). This was one of his earlier bestsellers, and as a natural history book, it's great. The idea that our habits coevolved with plants as we 'domesticated'/pollinated them is an interesting one, for sure, and the four species presented have some historical heft to them.
What soured me, unsurprisingly, is the the chapter on the potato as the embodiment of control. Meaning, most of this chapter is devoted to Monsanto's NewLeafs and the (negative) implications of GMOs. I realize this book is from 2001 but the trepidation around genetic engineering drives me nuts. While I agree that a biodiverse field will be healthier than a monoculture, I still think GMOs are the wrong villains to slay. If a modified organism reduces the expensive and toxic cocktail of pesticides used yearly, then why not use that technology? Why be a luddite? We get it; Monsanto is evil. But as long as Big Food and nationwide brands are a thing, we'll need to figure out how to approach monoculture in a more sustainable way. (I realize how oxymoronic that is but DEAL WITH IT)
What soured me, unsurprisingly, is the the chapter on the potato as the embodiment of control. Meaning, most of this chapter is devoted to Monsanto's NewLeafs and the (negative) implications of GMOs. I realize this book is from 2001 but the trepidation around genetic engineering drives me nuts. While I agree that a biodiverse field will be healthier than a monoculture, I still think GMOs are the wrong villains to slay. If a modified organism reduces the expensive and toxic cocktail of pesticides used yearly, then why not use that technology? Why be a luddite? We get it; Monsanto is evil. But as long as Big Food and nationwide brands are a thing, we'll need to figure out how to approach monoculture in a more sustainable way. (I realize how oxymoronic that is but DEAL WITH IT)
elyseyost's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This book had a refreshing blend of historical, scientific, and personal where it felt like I was learning but not doing schoolwork.
My main critique of the book is mainly contained to the tulip chapter, where Pollan relied on outdated tropes to push gender essentialism onto flowers with no biological backing. He admits “Biologically speaking, most flowers are bisexual, containing both male and female organs,” yet for some reason goes on to insist that a tulip is the most masculine flower while a roses or peonies are “women” prone to over-exuberance and irrationality. He repeatedly, and without scientific reason, falls into the trope of associating the ‘illogical’ and ‘primitive’ with femininity and ‘logic’ with masculinity.
Where Pollan shone was in the last two chapters on marijuana and the potato; discussing our desire for intoxication and control. His voice as a writer became a lot stronger for me in these chapters, and I found them to be thought-provoking and engaging.
bookworm21century's review against another edition
3.75
It was a personal recollection with facts scattered in between. I wish I was more into gardening, but that was my fault.