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

Every student in school is taught about the beneficial dance between flowers and honeybees: In the process of gathering nectar and pollen to produce honey, the bee disperses the genes of the flowers across the environment. Michael Pollan cleverly illustrates in The Botany of Desire how mankind and domesticated plants have developed a same reciprocal connection. He skillfully connects the four basic human needs—beauty, intoxication, sweetness, and control—with the plants—pot, tulips, apples, and potatoes—that fulfil them. By narrating the tales of four well-known species, Pollan shows how plants have developed to satiate humankind's most fundamental needs. Not only have these plants helped us, but we have also profited from them. In reality, therefore, who is domesticating whom?