Summary Of The Botany Of Desire By Michael Pollan

The Botany of Desire is a science novel written by Michael Pollan. This book explores the idea that throughout history, humans have been manipulated by plants. As humans we think that since we are the highest on the food chain, we domesticate and control all other living things. Michael Pollan challenges that idea and questions if plants have been evolving to meet our human desires, solidifying the plants survival. He examines four plants and the human desires that they satisfy; the apple for sweetness, tulip for beauty, marijuana for intoxication, and potatoes for control. Throughout the book he adventures around the world to find out why these plants were so important in history and really makes a good argument for the plants. Michael Pollan’s

His first stop was to the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed’s famous myth, the east coast. Johnny Appleseed (aka John Chapman) was known for his strange attire, behavior and his love of nature. He is often thought of as one of the first conservationists and a man of nature. He often slept in bored out stumps of trees and he traveled the country planting trees. He was a talented tree farmer. He knew exactly where the frontier was going to be colonized next and he would plant apple orchards there to sell apples and make sure that more were planted. Apple's back then were not eaten, but turned into cyder and drank. John Chapman made apple cyder the most popular drink and the most healthy drink of the time because of all the vitamins in apples. After his death, his legacy lived on and Pollan visited many of his orchards to see how many apple varieties he planted. There were hundreds and he was amazed by the amount of history left behind by John Chapman. He was often thought of as an American dionysus and that thought really stood out to me. He is almost a one to one replica of dionysus and Pollan’s analysis was very insightful. Through all his travels, Pollan really discovered why apples are America's favorite

He examines why we are so reliant on theses plants. We are reliant on the plants because they tend to our desires so they can survive. It is a symbiotic relationship that works for both parties. I think that Pollan’s writing style was a good fit for this format and complimented the premise well. Although he takes a very scientific approach, some bias comes across to the reader based on his previous experiences. For example, he is ok with the consumption of marijuana but that may not be the case with some people. So if they don’t agree with him, then his point will be less relevant to that reader. Pollan explains his book well and uses science to back up his claims. He talks about the genetics of plants and how they affect us. His exploration of marijuana and apples are a good example. This book was enjoyable to read because it was thought provoking and interesting. I enjoyed his exploration and the science that came with it was eye opening. I didn’t know some of the things he brought up and it is always a pleasure to learn while reading. The most interesting thing I learned was the scientific effects that marijuana has on the human body and how we are on the edge of discovering exactly what it can and will be used for is recreation and medicine in the future. This book has changed my appreciation for plants and I am more thoughtful because of it. I would recommend this to a