Everyone else liked this better than me

Not much reading got done this weekend, but I did manage to finish The Botany Of Desire.  I have mixed feelings--parts I liked very, very much, but other parts I disliked, almost enough to poison the whole book for me.   The parts that deal with history and culture are fascinating and revealing.  The Johnny Appleseed chapter was a true eye opener.  You know about apple seeds?  Well, I didn't either--but I do now.

Mr. Pollan's remaining three sections deal with tulipmania in Holland, the genesis of modern-day cannabis production, and the contribution of the humble potato to agricultural knowledge.  Great subjects.

But I don't the way he writes whimsical speculations as if they were facts.  The apple and the tulip sections are full of statements that aren't fact or even scientific theories undergoing serious consideration.   Some of his statements (a.k.a. speculations) read more like flights of lively fancy.

"When lack of food killed people, people judged body fat to be a thing of beauty."  "Try as they might, people have never been able to domesticate the oak tree, whose highly nutritious acorns remain far too bitter for humans to eat."  "...a well-developed culture of flowers is a luxury that most of Africa historically has not been able to support."

 Not that they're not interesting speculations--sometimes they're good jumping-off points for lively debate.  At other times, just beautifully drawn fantasy.  You might even say, poetry.

So...good book but be careful what you quote.

Good cat, bad picture.  She apparently knows how to use a bed.