The Botany of Desire
by Michael Pollan
Pollan's history of four plants, apple, tulip, cannabis, potato, as co-evolution with human desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control. Elegant and curious; the potato chapter is an early look at industrial agriculture.
Read it if…
you want beautifully written nonfiction that changes how you see ordinary things.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want diet advice; this is natural history.
Try instead: Determined →
Three things you will actually use
- Plants use us as much as we use them.
- Monoculture is fragile.
- Desire shapes the world.
Do this first
Read the apple chapter and then look at a grocery apple display.
Our verdict
Elegant natural history.
See the book →
Compare with other Mindset books
Phantoms in the Brain
V. S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee · Mindset
Accessible classic.
CLICK TO SEEBrowse all Mindset book reviews or get the free Reality Code Cheat Sheet.
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