Cannabis, Forgetting, and the Botany of Desire पीडीएफ

माइकल पोलन पिछली सात पुस्तकों के लेखक हैं, जिनमें कुक्ड, फ़ूड रूल्स, इन डिफेंस ऑफ़ फ़ूड, द ओम्निवोर्स डिलेम्मा और द बॉटनी ऑफ़ डिज़ायर शामिल हैं, जो सभी न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स के बेस्टसेलर थे। न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स पत्रिका में लंबे समय तक योगदान देने वाले, वह हार्वर्ड और कैलिफोर्निया विश्वविद्यालय, बर्कले में लेखन भी पढ़ाते हैं। 2010 में, टाइम पत्रिका ने उन्हें दुनिया के सौ सबसे प्रभावशाली लोगों में से एक का नाम दिया।

Cannabis, Forgetting, and the Botany of Desire पीडीएफ माइकल पोलान

"The Omnivore's Dilemma was great, and after hearing Pollan speak at the Drue Heinz lecture series a few months ago, I decided to read one of his earlier books. Though there are a few too many desultory odes to Nature's grand wisdom, The Botany of Desire is a satisfying and informative read about four species of plants that Pollan claims have domesticated us (as opposed to us domesticating them): the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. Each chapter pits Apollo (order) against Dionysus (passion, disorder), with Man and Nature constantly switching camps. Man wants neatly ordered rows of genetically modified potato monocultures to support the food industry, or dense but tidy marijuana clones to provide a good high, but that high itself is Dionysian. Straight-stemmed tulips are the epitome of Apollonian perfection, but the \broken\"" ones infected by a virus that creates wild, Dionysian splashes of color but weakens the plant were the cause of the great tulip speculation in Holland (and the subsequent stock market crash). The chapters on apples and tulips are interesting, but those on marijuana and potatoes are far better, delving into genetic engineering and scary prospects, such as irremediable property seizure for mere suspicion of growing pot, or proprietary seeds that grow sterile plants. (Which Monsanto loves, of course, because they can sell farmers new seeds the following year.)