Land of Plants in Motion is the first in any language to examine two companion stories: (1) the rise of an East Asian floristic zone and how the Japanese islands evolved an astonishing wealth of plant species, and (2) the growth of Japanese botanical sciences. The majority of plant species regarded as “Japanese” trace their origins to western China and the eastern Himalaya but ...(展开全部)

In The Botany of Desire, Pollan explores the concept of co-evolution, specifically of humankind's evolutionary relationship with four plants — apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes — from the dual perspectives of humans and the plants. He uses case examples that fit the archetype of four basic human desires, demonstrating how each of these botanical species are selectively gr...(展开全部)

In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan argues that the answer lies at the heart of the intimately reciprocal relationship between people and plants. In telling the stories of four familiar plant species that are deeply woven into the fabric of our lives, Pollan illustrates how they evolved to satisfy humankinds’s most basic yearnings — and by doing so made themselves indispens...(展开全部)

From the author of The History of the World in 100 Animals , a BBC Radio Four Book of the Week, comes an inspirational new book that looks at the 100 plants that have had the greatest impact on humanity, stunningly illustrated throughout.As humans, we hold the planet in the palms of ours hands. But we still consume the energy of the sun in the form of food. The sun is available...(展开全部)

For centuries, from foodstuffs and fabrics to medicine and industrial materials, plants have dominated trade between countries. Possession of rare spices, sweets, and narcotics could mean enviable wealth and power. In quest of these desired products and the income they brought, explorers ventured forth, risking death as they traveled unknown seas. Here is the story of seven pla...(展开全部)

Plants seldom figure in the grand narratives of war, peace, or even everyday life, yet they are often at the center of high intrigue. In the 18th century, epic scientific voyages were sponsored by European imperial powers to explore the natural riches of the New World and uncover the botanical secrets of its people. Bioprospectors brought back medicines, luxuries, and staples f...(展开全部)

Plants seldom figure in the grand narratives of war, peace, or even everyday life yet they are often at the center of high intrigue. In the eighteenth century, epic scientific voyages were sponsored by European imperial powers to explore the natural riches of the New World, and uncover the botanical secrets of its people. Bioprospectors brought back medicines, luxuries, and sta...(展开全部)

By the turn of the twentieth century, Japan's military and economic successes made it the dominant power in East Asia, drawing hundreds of thousands of Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese students to the metropole and sending thousands of Japanese to other parts of East Asia. The constant movement of people, ideas, and texts in the Japanese empire created numerous literary contact n...(展开全部)

An exhilarating new book from the author of the worldwide bestseller "The Tulip." "The Naming of Names "traces the search for order in the natural world, a search that for hundreds of years occupied some of the most brilliant minds in Europe. Redefining man's relationship with nature was a major pursuit during the Renaissance. But in a world full of poisons, there was also an u...(展开全部)