The botany of desire
a plant's eye view of the world
by Michael Pollan
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Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a
similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Gardening, Nature, Human-plant relationships, Nonfiction, Plants and civilization, Ethnobotany, Nature, effect of human beings on, Large type booksPeople
William Ellery Jones, Johny Appleseed, John Chapman, Forsline, Jack Goody, Anna Pavord, Carolus Clusius, Richard Dawkins (1941-), Carl Sagan (1934-1996), Charles Darwin (1809-1882), IdahoPlaces
Mount Vernon, Ohio, Mansfield, Cincinnati, Geneva, New York, Amsterdam, Manhattan, Milford, Mexico, CaliforniaShowing 2 featured editions. View all 16 editions?
| Edition | Availability |
|---|---|
1
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
May 28, 2002, Random House Trade Paperbacks, Random House
Paperback
in English
0375760393 9780375760396
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2
The botany of desire: a plant's eye view of the world
2001, Random House
in English
- 1st ed.
0375501290 9780375501296
|
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WorldCat
|
Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-256) and index.
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marc_cca MARC recordCollingswood Public Library record
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marc_openlibraries_phillipsacademy MARC record
marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC record
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Work Description
A Random House Trade Paperback
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| March 22, 2024 | Edited by Tom Morris | Remove translator from author list |
| March 22, 2024 | Edited by Tom Morris | Fix work title |
| March 22, 2024 | Edited by Tom Morris | Merge works |
| January 16, 2024 | Edited by bitnapper | Merge works |
| December 10, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |