A farmer cultivates genetically modified potatoes so that a customer at Mc Donalds half a world away can enjoy a long golden french fry. A gardener plants tulip bulbs in the autumn & in the spring has a riotous patch of colour to admire. Two simple examples of how humans act on nature to get what we want. Or are they? What if those potatoes & tulips have evolved to gratify certain human desires so that humans will help them multiply? What if in other words these plants are using us just as we use them? In blending history memoir & superb science writing Pollan tells the story of four domesticated species
- the apple the tulip marijuana & the potato. All four plants are integral to our everyday lives & Pollan demonstrates how each has thrived by satisfying one of humankinds most basic desires. Weaving fascinating anecdote & accessible science Pollan takes the reader on an absorbing journey through the landscape of botany & desire. It is a journey that will change the way we think about our place in nature