Propitious Esculent: The Potato in World History - Hardcover

Reader, John

3.82

450 ratings by Goodreads

9780434013180: Propitious Esculent: The Potato in World History

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0434013188 ISBN 13: 9780434013180

Publisher: William Heinemann, 2008

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A highly readable exploration of the biology, history and social influence of our most humble and versatile foodstuff.

Baked, roasted, boiled, mashed, steamed, french-fried — the potato is one of the most familiar and ubiquitous foods we have, and part of our sense of humble, mundane normality. But the story of the solarum tuberosum is one of struggle, disease and survival.

Naturally fat-free, potatoes consist mainly of energy-giving carbohydrates, as well as protein and half of our RDA of Vitamin C and Potassium. People have been known to sustain active lives for months fuelled only by potatoes and a little margarine. These bundles of nutrition, which grow safely and cheaply underground in almost any weather and soil conditions, have fuelled industrial revolutions and population explosions. Reader follows the potato’s fascinating journey, from its origins and evolution in the Andes thousands of years ago, to its slightly mysterious arrival in Europe where it became a crucial part of the gastronomic and social fabric.

2008 has been designated International Year of the Potato by the UN and, as global population swells and famine remains a constant risk, Reader asks what role the spud still has to play.
From the Trade Paperback edition.

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About the Author:

John Reader is an author and photojournalist. He holds fellowships in the Department of Anthropology at University College London, the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Royal Geographic Society.
From the Trade Paperback edition.

Review:

"Praise for Cities: A fascinating account of how cities grow and sometimes crumble... Reader's magpie eye...picks out gems... Entertaining... Cities is, finally, a celebration of its subject's refusal to be explained or controlled." * Guardian * "Cities is vastly entertaining, and Reader has a fine eye for the telling anecdote and statistic... Reading it is a bit like wandering with an erudite companion through a great city in which the past rubs shoulders with the present and surprises lurk around every corner." * Time * "It is probably the most enjoyable book ever written about the matter of a city... fascinating" -- Jan Morris * The Times *

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