Sunday, December 27, 2009

The Botany of Desire Review



Overthe past few years, Michael Pollan has become the new guru of what to eat and what not to eat.  I thoroughly enjoyed "In Defense of Food" and picked this up thinking it would be similar.  If you're a total foodie-nerd like me, you'll probably enjoy the book, but it's quite different than IDoF.

In this book, Pollan profiles four plants (apples, tulips, cannabis, and potatoes) and how they've adapted themselves to fit human desires (sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control, respectively).  It's an interesting read, but ultimately less about food than about botany and human desires (as the title would suggest, duh).  Still, it's well-written and entertaining.

On a slight side note:  Michael Pollan plays "Not My Job" on "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" and it was one of my favorite episodes of 2009.  Paula Poundstone kills me.  Listen here.

1 comment:

Lauren said...

oooh, that sounds pretty interesting. I may have to pick it up!

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