Plants, People, Culture (Scientific American Library Paperback) [Paperback]

Michael J. Balick (Author), Paul Alan Cox (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0716760274 | ISBN-13: 978-0716760276 | Publication Date: May 1997 | Edition: 1st

Ethnobotany - the study of the cultural use of plants - is explored throroughly in this text. The significance of plants in Western as well as indigenous societies is confronted and the history of ethnobotany, development of agriculture, and the critical need to conserve plant biodiversity are all covered in this introduction to the science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Balick and Cox have combined their own ethnobotanical expertise with documented accounts to produce a beautifully illustrated introduction to this increasingly popular topic. The final book is not only readable and fascinating, but also thought-provoking and ultimately moving. -- The Geographical Journal, 3/98

This is a fascinating integration of chemistry, botany, anthropology, history and ecology...This is an inspiring book that deserves to be read by anyone interested in conservation, ethnomedicine, and indigenous peoples. -- Kliatt, January, 1998

Two leading ethnobotanists argue that human cultural origins are woven with plants: examining the prehistoric use and gathering of plants by hunter-gatherers to modern times, this examines important connections between indigenous peoples' development and concurrent plant discoveries. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: W.H. Freeman & Company; 1st edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716760274
• ISBN-13: 978-0716760276
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to a fascinating field, April 23, 2000

By 

Zack Silber-Coats (Davis, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plants, People, Culture (Scientific American Library Paperback) (Paperback)

Balick and Cox's book provides an excellent introductory text for the field of ethnobotany. It covers a wide range of material, including medical ethnobotany, the origins of foods and indigenous stewardship of crop biodiversity, materials science, plant toxins and hallucinogens, and ethnobotanical approaches to conservation. Contrary to the last reader's opinion, the authors make clear their deep concern for indigenous rights. Cox, for example, personally took out a loan for the building of a school in Samoa, as described in Nafanua, another excellent book. Other issues discussed also reveal the authors' attempt to further indigenous well-being. In work with the Akimel O'Odham in southern Arizona, Gary Paul Nabhan was able to demonstrate the nutritional value of their traditional diet, which had been largely forsaken for all-American junk food, thus leading to severe obesity and heart problems in a people biologically adapted to a harsh desert diet. Thus in many cases, the results of ethnobotanical research can have practical, beneficial effects upon the lives of indigenous peoples.

14 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Information--Bad Judgements, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Plants, People, Culture (Scientific American Library Paperback) (Paperback)

Although this book is full of great photos, interesting information about the plants and the worlds where they come from, the authors are clearly more interested in exploiting the knowledge of the natives than attempting to appreciate the unique tribes, their customs AND the plants they use. This book should be called "The Plants We Can Take from Less Advanced People Than Ourselves".