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

" Mind blowingly good. I consider this the best of Michael Pollan, which is about as good as it gets for this genre. It's main takeawat is that plants domesticate us just as much as we domesticate them. Yay for mutual exploitation! "

" Great read and history about plants we take for granted. "

" I may never eat potatoes again. "

" Amusing, well-written book with lots of trivia that I found very interesting. Learned things about Jonny Appleseed, for example, that no one had ever mentioned before. Best chapter was about apples which are far more fascinating than I thought possible. If you like nature and are interested in gardens and plants, this is a good book. If not, probably too much detail. "

" A great read about the evolution of agriculture from Johnny Appleseed to Monsanto. I could have done without so much about pot. Pollan spent a lot of time talking about how bad monoculture and cloning are (diseases become stronger, the plants become weaker, etc) but when it comes to weed, those things seem to be good. I'm not sure if he was trying to justify or encourage marijuana usage or cultivation, but that chapter seemed out of place with the overarching message of the book. "

" Not as good as Omnivore's Dilemma but good writing and lots of new information for me at least. "

" 4 great storrirs of interspecies interaction "

" I learned so much reading this book! "

" Think of us serving the desire of the tulip to spresad its genes. "

" Pollan is an excellent science writier (and speaker, if you ever get the pleasure of hearing him in public). After an epiphany in his garden, when he realizes plants are using him rather than vice versa, he dives deeper into the relationship between four diferent plants and humans. "

" great book to bring respect & understanding of the world's 4 most sought after plants: potato, apple, tulip & cannabis "

" Some interesting thought provoking ideas hidden in a lot of dribble. "

" an really great examination of the history of food - at least three key foods that have shaped our lives and our world "

" A great read - four simple chapters but Michael Pollan gets a lot of value out of his four examples - four plants, four human desires, and a narrative that ties them all together. This will change the way you relate to plants. "

" I found this book more like a textbook which was not what I expected. It did, however, provide insights by the author which were very interesting in terms of how humans and animals interact with plants. "

" How plants have influenced human desires - for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control - as shown by the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato. "

" Made me want to learn more about Johnny Appleseed. "

" Didn't hang together as a solid book for me - more like 4 short stories. But I was fascinated with each one, so it's ok. "

" I love the history of things as well as people. Michael Pollan does a wonderful job of pulling us through the historical development of four common items. Not for anyone who needs a lot of action in their books. "

" Such a fascinating read. Essentially the author's premise is that man thinks he controls food, but food controls man, by pandering to our desires. Nice narrative, exciting non-fictional read! "

" This book provided me a new way to look at the way that humans and plants have interacted throughout history. It was also a good introduction to monoculture and genetically modified foods (GMO). I found the apple and potato sections especially eye opening. "

" One of my first books from Michael Pollan. I thought the Omnivores dilema was better. "

" Did not enjoy this as much as his other books. Some salient points but a bit dry. Too much usage of Apollo and Dionysus. "