The Botany of Desire

This is one of those books that just gives you a lot to think about. I would actually suggest this book to anyone. Fitting narration, excellent content, something that anyone can appreciate.

The narrator was pretty good, I wasn't falling asleep, I never thought that it was drawling on nor was I thinking it was being rushed. There were moments you can laugh at and it was also very easy to follow in the easy, cool tone the narrator had. The entire book was brought across very well.

I have some friends who studied botany in in college who I picture would find the entire book fascinating. I majored in Chemistry and I found myself channelling my inner scientist by the Potato chapter wondering how I could genetically modify a Pumpkin plant, that's how thought provoking I found this book. Also, I can see someone with no affiliation with science also appreciating this book as long as they have an open mind. The book was not complicated in any way by having overly complex concept and was broken down in a form I think anyone could appreciate.

This book is great. Sure it's not a textbook so don't expect to use it to pass your biology exams. It's a pop science book that will be interesting to a wide range of people, in particular anyone interested in gardening and plants.

It's basically four stories, each one about a different plant and the authors experience with them and musing on them and their history. The four plants are apples, tulips, marijuana and potatoes.

The book is well written and in some places quite funny. It kept me entertained, I picked up a few factoids on the history of these plants, and it made me think about how plants and humans depend on each other.

The narrators reading was a bit overdramatic in the introductory parts, either he settled down or I got used to it, because I enjoyed the narration through most of the stories. This narrator also did "The Traveler" (fiction), which I also enjoyed about 6 months ago.

Overall, this is one of the best books I've downloaded in the last few months.

I realized my teenage children and I have listened to various parts of this book a dozen times already. Time to write a Review! Recommended to us by their high school teacher, this book discusses the history, science, and more regarding the apple, the lily, weed, and the potato. Don't miss this book - it is well read and not only very informative but a great story as well.

I'm not sure where those negative reviews came from. The book was well written, informative and entertaining. It's really a history of 4 things from our daily lives: apples, tulips, potatoes, and Mary Jane.

But it's more than just a history of these four; like his other book(s), Botany of Desire makes you question things- in this case the theory that the food chain might actually 'desire' to be what they have evolved into. Although he argues this point seriously enough, and it did make me think about it, I find it difficult to equate evolution to 'desire.'

Anyhoo, I bought this book because I really like Omnivore's Dilemma. It wasn't quite as good in my opinion, but still very good. And the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I read OD before and had another of his works to compare this one to.

In short, if you like apples, tulips, potatoes or wacky tobaccy, you'll like this book.

Nearly impossible to get through this book with the chosen narrator. Sadly, it takes a lot from the interesting subject matter.

I got this book as I like the narrator and it had so many great reviews. This book makes you think of the relationship between humans and nature - and in particular plants - in a whole different way. Johnny Appleseed is explained with many fascinating facts about apples and apple trees.
Apples, Tulips, Marijuana and Potatoes are talked about and explained. I found the discussion on potatoes would be the most provocative. The book allows you to better understand the blight,why genetic engineering of foods is gaining a foothold, and the challenges of organic farming.
Well worth the listen!

Although I found the subject matter of this book interesting and appealing, it was Pollan's use of language that kept me coming back to listen more. It has been a long time since I have been exposed to such charming and lyrical prose -- a perfect accompaniment to the author's love of the subject. Or perhaps I should say "subjects" -- the choice of apple, tulip, cannabis, and potato provide a multidimensional view of human-plant interaction (and Pollan's passion for the topic) that would not be easily expressible in a more conventionally focused format.

Two green thumbs up!

This is not a book for those looking for hard facts. Contrary to the book's description, you'll learn very little about the co-evolution of humans and plants. Most of the text consists out of lenghty contemplations and author's own, rather poetical, thoughts about humans and plants.

It is difficult to say I enjoyed this book when I could barely stomach the awful narration by Scott Brick. I think having him narrate this (as well as all the other Michael Pollan books) is a huge disservice to MP fans. I think having my eyes poked out would be preferable to listening to another book by this reader, even if it were my most favourite book ever.

The sing-songy and overly dramatic (in random places that have nothing to do with the storyline) reading completely take away any pleasure to be gained from Michael Pollan's clear, insightful writing. I actually had to abandon the book after the second section because I just couldn't take it any longer. I feel cheated - of my time, of my money, and of what could have been a wonderful listening experience. Audible.com should have a free short listening sample from each book so you can make sure the narrator is not going to ruin it for you before you spend your money on the whole book!

If you can tolerate his nasal, whiny narration, go for it - the material is fantastic, and everything one would expect from Michael Pollan.

I'm enjoying the book but I really dislike the whiny tone of the person reading it.