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March Book Club "A Short History of nearly Everything"
By William · 14 posts · 147 views
By William · 14 posts · 147 views
last updated Aug 06, 2014 12:20PM
November 2010 - Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End / The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God
By S. · 62 posts · 80 views
By S. · 62 posts · 80 views
last updated Apr 19, 2012 04:58PM
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Work in progress links - Demo for Betsy
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By Luella · 19 posts · 27 views
last updated May 22, 2017 05:02PM
What Members Thought
Mar 26, 2013
Kathleen (itpdx)
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction
Pollan presents us with a paradigm shift. He gives us the story of four plants that have become evolutionarily very successful by hitching their wagon to humans. The four plants that he explores are the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. He gives us the plant/human history and then uses this to explore some interesting topics including seed vs. grafting, speculation and value, psychoactive plant substances, genetic modification, and monoculture agriculture. His discussion is interestin
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the apple, the tulip, cannabis, the potato. mr pollan looks at the relationship between humans and plants using these popular four. how their history is so closely linked with ours and the idea that we may not have been totally responsible for their continued popularity. sometimes it is easy to forget humans ARE nature, not separate from or in charge of it. so the fact that a plant will manipulate a human the same way it does a bee or a butterfly is not a new idea but mr pollan's book makes it i
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Although I wasn't into his writing style, he really has a fascinating idea in that he draws on 4 different plants to demonstrate how plants have 'used' humans to propagate themselves by satisfying our desire for control (potato), intoxication (marijuana), beauty (tulip) and sweetness (apple). He draws on some great examples to show how these plants have shaped and even altered our cultural myths and folklore. If can't get into his writing style, a PBS documentary was made out of this which has s
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Wasn't really great until the last section on the potato, which was a real eye-opener. Not as good as Omnivore's Dilemma or In Defense of Food but still recommended.
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just found hardcover copy. `13//8/13
ebook version
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ebook version
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Mar 25, 2008
Waldtochter
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Mar 30, 2008
Debi
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Jul 19, 2008
Jill
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Jul 30, 2008
AER
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Fun!
Jan 18, 2010
Worthless Bum
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
berkeley-central-library
Feb 28, 2012
Casey
marked it as to-read
Oct 06, 2013
David
marked it as to-read
