Rating: 
Summary: Too Little Genuine Research & Many Convoluted Conclusions!
Review: This book is a prime example of a little knowledge ending up misleading the author and anyone who reads his writings. Michael Pollan intent was just to challenge the traditional views about humans and nature and thus came to the conclusion he wanted not what is actually true about American agricultural.For example, Mr. Pollan is correct to say our agricultural and energy resources are closely connected, that is true but he did not go further in understanding why nor finding out why too. The fact is our oil industry actually created valuable products from the by-products after creating gasoline, kerosene and motor oil. He did not research that the artificial fertilizers called "Urea" is really a creation from the nitrogen gases from the refinery process. The result was truly healthy new uses of urea to treat poor soils to enhance yields and growth of plants to feed more people too. Mr. Pollan never checks how or why this by-product developed. It is a way to use a by-product of another product that normally would become waste. Instead, he wrongly concludes we are using oil resources for agricultural purposes. When they actually were, just by-products discovered after the refining process that put our oil resource by-products to even better uses, as if enhancing food yields with natural nitrogen found in the hydrocarbons of oil. All Oil Refineries send the by-products of oil like Nitrogen and CO2 to chemical plants to make ammonia and urea that actually enhance soils to grow plants to feed the world. India and China are now the greatest importers and without Urea could not overcome the obstacles to feed their once starving nations. Yet, the author never knew this as seen in his book. On the other hand, Mr. Pollan is right about American Agriculture purpose was to feed our population with many high carbohydrates such as corn, fruits, peas and grains. They fill you up but when taken in great quantities can cause many people diabetes especially from by-products like fructose from corn that replace sugar in soft drinks. However, it is up to the person to watch what they intake in quantities and up to our agriculture to provide the supply to meet demand. Of course, too much bread, potatoes and corn will turn into instant sugar and why you must watch how much you do eat of them. The fact is the elite and royalty always were able to afford high protein products like meat, poultry and fish. The average common man in earlier times could not so they created peasant food that is a mixture of carbs & starches like bread, pasta, gravy, mixed with small slices of meat. In spite of that, Mr. Pollan concludes wrongly that our Agricultural cannot sustain itself and is misusing its resources when it is feeding the world far better than ever. What we need is more education on the subject but mixing some facts with wrong bias conclusions based on ignorance in this book is not the way to do it either.
The other misnomer is that American Farmers especially Diary Farmer know that Cows cannot provide good milk if they are not content and happy and when treated poorly actually produce milk that cannot be used. Thus, once again Mr. Pollan is in error that Farmers mistreat their Cows when they eventually end up providing healthy beef too. Therefore, Farmers treat their cows with care and concern because if not they lose income from their hard work. Mr. Pollan just assumes the opposite that money is more important than the cows when actually there is no money in treating cows poorly or with chemicals that hurts them and us. The bottom line, when journalists does not do the proper research and ends up mixing some of the truth without checking out all the facts, you end up with a book of untrustworthy information making me doubt his entire book. I have read many books in my life, but this is one that I cannot recommend because of lazy research leading to wrong convoluted conclusions by the author who has let in his own personal bias prevail over objective facts out there for anyone to fairly research properly.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Ideas, Boring Read
Review: The Botany of Desire presents an innovative way to think about how plants have propagated. The ideas are fresh, but, unfortunately, too few for an entire book. This subject matter would have been better served in essay format. The history presented about the tulip, rose and potato is fun and interesting--worth the read in these parts, even though one has to wade through the interspersed philosophical musings of the author that are reiterated one too many times in (dare I say it?) overly-flowery language. The self-deprecating, blushing tales of pot smoking experimentation were silly and not worth the time to read. Honestly, I cannot recommend this book unless you want to be bored most of the time while reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Tripped out experience!!
Review: Reading this book is like taking a little journey, and credit for this goes to the wonderful writing style and brilliant sequencing of narratives by the writer. The book at a basic level aims to explore the close interplay of humanity and four different botanical elements, and attempts to show the influence that this interplay has had on the flow of history. Starting with the tale of Johnny Appleseed set in a languorous backdrop, the book slowly edges forward to the tale of the Tulip ... set in the backdrop of a Europe that was beginning to emerge as a major sea-faring continent with amazing adventurers. The book then makes a silent detour into the taboo plant of Marijuana (for the serious/ex- users of weed, the descriptions of the experiences and the scientific analysis of the subject is ...simply Mind Blowing). Following this section and having set the reader on a contemplative path, the book now races to a climactic finish with a brilliant discussion on the issues regarding genetically modified crops and their socio-econo-political consequences. MP is a writer par excellence, and this makes the book a wonderful read. The book is almost like a little rivulet, that goes on to become a roaring river, which calms down on its final leg to the sea... and then merges with the vast ocean that is limitless and boundless. And while doing so, MP touches subjects as diverse as history, geography, politics, economics and of course... botany!
Rating:
Summary: Botany of Desire is an exploration of the erotic
Review: This is one of the best books I have read. It flows and explores the human nature of beauty. A must have book
Rating: 
Summary: Science Lite - Rambling with a few gems
Review: Michael Pollan's The Botony of Desire has both strengths and weakenesses which is why I gave it a score of 3 stars. The strenghts include the story of Johnny Appleseed and the use of apples for cider prior to the use of apples for eating. The history of the apple in Asia was very good. The strengths also include the story of the Irish potato famine and the perils of monoculture. The weaknesses include a rambling lazy style that might be great for a relaxed vacation reading experience but is annoying if you wish Pollan to get to his point and move forward.
Rating:
Summary: How Sweet They Are
Review: This book is just really marvelous. I took it on a cruise and it's just the kind of book you want for an occasion like that ... light but intriguing, thought-provoking and entertaining as can be. Perhaps because I am so intuitive myself, I appreciate Pollan's really intuitive approach to his subject ... the evolution of both people and plants. Pollan had me looking at just about everything differently and I love a book like that. I think this book will delight just about anyone with a creative open mind.
Rating:
Summary: Anti-botany
Review: In view of the many reviews already out there I need not add much. I read my way through the Apple chapter, which was readable, but quite light on facts (heavy on wordy prose). I tried to read the Tulip chapter but soon felt quite uneasy. On page 69 I hit:
"To induce flies into its inner sanctum (there to be digested by waiting enzymes), the pitcher plant has developed a weirdly striated maroon-and-white flower ...". It is hard to imagine that this is the result of mere ignorance, surely such an artful compilation of so many untruths in a single sentence requires actual intent to misinform people on botany? Maybe some time I will try to read the chapter on Marihuana, which should be mostly about the history of its use and thus safe in the hands of (even) Micheal Pollan?
Rating:
Summary: A good read, and very informative
Review: I read this book after hearing a talk by Pollan on New Dimensions radio (in their "Bioneers" series), and I found it (like his talk) perfectly delightful. I don't agree that his use of science is misleading: he's done his homework and researched his subjects pretty thoroughly, and if he takes sides on an issue (e.g., anti-pesticide and anti-genetic-engineering), it's a reasoned conclusion rather than an unthinking bias. The book is anecdotal and impressionistic, not a closely-reasoned scientific argument, but I felt that its rather loose structure worked well: it's a fun read, he kept me interested all the way through, and I learned a surprising amount about history, botany, and horticulture. I've read several accounts of the Potato Famine, but Pollan's "take" on it was intriguing: he sees it as the world's most ghastly example of the dangers of monoculture, and I agree that it's a lesson we all need to take to heart. (But it's also a case of How A Fungus Changed The World: if the potato blight hadn't dispersed the Irish all over the world, many countries -- in Latin America, as well as the obvious contenders, Australia and the U.S. -- would be very different today.) The book is easy to read and amusing, but he also makes some important points, and I have no hesitation in recommending it.
Rating:
Summary: Best Read of the Year
Review: Well written and fascinating. Johhny Appleside was shown to be a much more interesting three dimensial character than is portrayed in the children's stories we all grew up reading. Also did an excellent job portraying modern farming methods and made, in my mind, a compelling argument for the practicality and desirability of organic farming. Made a real case to buy at the local farmers market. It was hilarious, yet frightening, reading of the authors struggle with the case of the Monsanto pesticide engineered potatoes. This was a selection for my book club and we all agreed it is one of the best books we've read as a group.
Rating:
Summary: the best non-fiction of the year
Review: Pollan's writing is superb, his topics fascinating, and the resulting book is tremendously good. Perhaps most importantly, this book activates all the pleasure we experience in reading about the "trivial" (such as Pollan's account of Johnny Appleseed), but the issues at stake are vital and affect all of us: genetically modified food, the use of "monoculture" in farming and the ways it renders us susceptible to famine and disease; this book makes an ideal pairing with *Fast Food Nation*.
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