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

While there is some interesting information in this book, I found it dry and repetitive. Couldn't finish it.

A pretty interesting study of a few types of plants. I didn't love how the author anthropomorphized the plants, and he took a lot of liberties with how he describes evolution, but that won't bother everyone. As a serious scientist, that stuff gets on my nerves! The book is definitely worth reading.

I do not normally read non fiction books so I have to admit that I was not looking forward to this book club pick. Surprisingly, the book turned out to be pretty good. It had lots of interesting information in it. I especially liked the section on apples and potatoes. I don't know if I'll ever eat another fast food french fry ever again! Even though it wasn't the type of book that you get lost in, I still enjoyed it.

If you are picking up this book, finish it!!! The first two chapters, with a focus on Apples and Tulips can be a big long and repetitive, but the final two chapter, focused on Marijuana and Potatoes, are phenomenal. The insights that Pollan reveals are amazing and really make you rethink the way the world we live in was constructed.
Truly, our plant society has been created for us, manipulating the reproductive properties and places plants are allowed to live to create a strange amalgam of resources at our fingertips. And as a result, those products adapt and change their life, as well as ours. With many opinions on the subject myself, it was nice to read the chapter on marijuana and get some new insights.
Very insightful book. Makes you see the 'natural' world around you in a new light.

Plants as subjects, humans as bees: The Botany of Desire is an interesting, thought-provoking look at the relationship of humans and plants. Michael Pollan focuses on four plants (apple, tulip, cannabis, and potato) and how they relate to the human desires of sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control, respectively. The PBS documentary of the same name focused more on the scientific aspects, perhaps because those were more visually appealing and less controversial. In book form, Pollan proceeds in a more reflective mode, for example discussing the Apollonian and Dionysian duality throughout. His intelligence, grasp of evolutionary biology and its implications, and love of gardening shine through. The idea that plants and humans co-evolve—that we humans may have done the evolutionary bidding of plants— gives The Botany of Desire paradigm-shifting potential by inviting the reader re-evaluate the proper role of humans in the natural order.

The made a great discussion for our AAUW book club! A different read...well worth the time.