Imserba Webstore - The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World

	List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $10.88 Your Save: $ 5.12 ( 32% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 306.45 EAN: 9780375760396 Feature: ISBN13: 9780375760396 ISBN: 0375760393 Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 304 Publication Date: 2002-05-28 Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks Release Date: 2002-05-28 Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Features ISBN13: 9780375760396 Condition: NEW Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
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Editorial Reviews: 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?
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Not Bad Comment: I didn't get drawn in like I did his other two books, but I learned a lot. That's what I can count on with Pollan. Customer Rating: Summary: A good read for the non-scientist Comment: As a botanist myself, I applaud any book that leads others into the green world around us. As has been mentioned in other reviews, however, the accuracy of much of what he says - from a scientific point of view - is to be taken with a grain of salt. Horticulture and agriculture, for example, are intertwined in a way that is misleading. His forthcoming PBS special of the same name should be interesting and enjoyable for all of those who love gardening, taking walks in the park, and stimulating to those who simply like educational programs in general. From a botanist's standpoint though, his "argument" that some species use or manipulate people to ensure their own survival is nothing new - it's been argued and pointed out for over 100 years (at least) by biologists and ethnobotanists. I'll enjoy watching it as well, and I encourage other interested in nature to read his book and watch the PBS special! Customer Rating: Summary: Botany of Desire Comment: The product was great, exactly what I needed, the shipping got a little mixed up, and I couldn't read it before my test but no big deal only missed one question! Thank you for the quick fix! Customer Rating: Summary: Fantastic!! Comment: This is the Micahael Pollan book to read. It reads like a fairy tale, full of luscious information about ordinary things you will never see in the same light as before reading his book. The tulip part is fascinating and explains why tulips appear in so many fifteenth and sixteenth century paintings especially from Dutch and Flemish regions. I have lent the book out because it seems a shame to keep all this wonderful information to myself. If text books in school were this interesting no one would drop out. It's like a literary dessert, and anyone with a good imagination will love it. Customer Rating: Summary: a desirable book Comment: for the sensuous gardner. A wonderful book; well written & well resaearched. Informally informative. beautiful.