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Propitious Esculent: The Potato In World History
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Condition
Poor Book has considerable wear and marks, could have small pieces missing from jacket, all defects are mentioned
Fair Book has considerable wear, may have some small pieces missing from jacket, but is complete with defects mentioned.
Good Book has general wear, but is still clean and very presentable.
Very Good Book has been read a few times, but with no major defects. It can contain some minor reading/shelf wear.
Fine A book has been read once or twice, but has a very minor shelf/reading wear and is almost as new in condition.
As New A book has been read once or twice, but has no real defects and appears almost new.
Fine: A book has been read once or twice, but has a very minor shelf/reading wear and is almost as new in condition.
New A book is brand new and never used.
Book Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780434018369
Date Published
2008
Book Publisher
William Heinemann
Publisher: William Heinemann
Publication Date: 2008
ISBN:9780434018369
Condition: Good
The potato—humble, lumpy, bland, familiar—is a decidedly unglamorous staple of the dinner table. Or is it? John Reader’s narrative on the role of the potato in world history suggests we may be underestimating this remarkable tuber. From domestication in Peru 8,000 years ago to its status today as the world’s fourth largest food crop, the potato has played a starring—or at least supporting—role in many chapters of human history. In this witty and engaging book, Reader opens our eyes to the power of the potato. Whether embraced as the solution to hunger or wielded as a weapon of exploitation, blamed for famine and death or recognized for spurring progress, the potato has often changed the course of human events. Reader focuses on sixteenth-century South America, where the indigenous potato enabled Spanish conquerors to feed thousands of conscripted native people; eighteenth-century Europe, where the nutrition-packed potato brought about a population explosion; and today’s global world, where the potato is an essential food source but also the world’s most chemically-dependent crop. Where potatoes have been adopted as a staple food, social change has always followed. It may be “just” a humble vegetable, John Reader shows, yet the history of the potato has been anything but dull.
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