First published in 1949, this remarkable book is the culmination of a life-long study of every aspect of the potato. Dr Salaman is concerned first with the history of the potato as a member of the botanical genus Solanum, its adaptation by man as a cultivated plant, and the record of its spread throughout the world; secondly he considers the influence the potato has exerted upon the social structure and economy of different peoples at different times. The archaeological and anthropological evidence for the early significance of the potato among the peoples of Latin America is discussed in detail with numerous illustrations, but the central portion of the book is concerned with the European, and particularly the Irish evidence. Naturally the Great Hunger is the most dramatic single episode in the entire work, and Dr Salaman does full justice to his tragic theme, concluding with the observation that in Ireland 'the potato ended in wrecking both exploited and exploiter'. Elegantly written, with numerous vivid anecdotes, Salaman's History has long enjoyed the status of a classic. This revised impression, with a new introduction and emendations by Professor J. G. Hawkes, enables another generation of readers to sample what Eric Hobsbawm has referred to as 'that magnificent monument of scholarship and humanity'.
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'It is a work of profound and accurate scholarship, the product, over long years, of patient and careful research. Side by side with the history of the potato, its adoption by man and its spread throughout the world, is a study of the influence which it has exerted on the social structure of those people who accepted it as a staple article of diet.' Nature
'It is a great work, in many respects a noble work, that will excite attention and arouse interest in many quarters.' The Spectator
'His profound learning and the felicity of phrase with which he is able to express it from a combination which carries the reader avidly from page to page ... Dr Salaman has written a truly monumental work.' Horticultural Abstracts
'This book stands as the high achievement of an erudite and humane person of wide knowledge and even wider understanding.' Heredity
'It is a great work, in many respects a noble work, that will excite attention and arouse interest in many quarters.' The Spectator
'His profound learning and the felicity of phrase with which he is able to express it from a combination which carries the reader avidly from page to page ... Dr Salaman has written a truly monumental work.' Horticultural Abstracts
'This book stands as the high achievement of an erudite and humane person of wide knowledge and even wider understanding.' Heredity
Book Description
A reissue of a scholarly classic considers the influence of the potato on the social structure and economy throughout history wherever men adopted it as a mainstay of their diets.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the best of the potato history books.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The History and Social Influence of the Potato (Cambridge Paperback Library) (Paperback)
Redcliffe Salaman chronicles the history of the potato from prehistory through modern times with the vehemence and passion of a zealot. This book contains a tremendous amount of information about the cultures that have made use of the potato as well as all you could ask about the noble tuber itself, including dietary and cultivation information. Here, in a book about spuds, you'll learn plenty about human nature, the nature of civilizations, and even art.
5.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: The History and Social Influence of the Potato (Cambridge Paperback Library) (Paperback)
Very scholarly and extremely interesting. The roots (no pun intended) of modern civilization have
more to do with the potato than I could ever have imagined. The South American historical speculations are riveting and with the more recent archeological discoveries in that part of the world this book's relevance is more fascinating now than when it was written some 50 or so years ago. A classic in every sense of the word.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Just as it is impossible to discuss intelligently the history of the potato without a reference to those early agriculturists who won and fashioned it, so would it be futile were we to leave undescribed the peculiar setting in which both plant and man evolved their mutual understanding. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
whilst the potato, fact that the potato, conacre land, tuberosum esculentum, area under potatoes, kelp trade, mashed potato powder, cottier system, chromosome formula, maincrop varieties, wheat availability, domestic potato, potato acreage, cottier class, fertile glens, potato trade, potato areas, common potato, secondary leaflets, cooked tubers, quartern loaf, plantarum historia, potato failure, primary leaflets, kelp industry Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Great Britain, Annals of Agric, South America, Sir Robert, General View, Board of Agriculture, Royal Society, Sir John, The Statistical Account of Scotland, United States, Arthur Young, Gaspard Bauhin, Sir Thomas, Sir Walter Raleigh, Western Isles, Coal Line, East Anglia, North Wales, Thomas Southwell, Tristan da Cunha, United Kingdom, British Isles, Covent Garden, English Farming, Hakluyt Soc New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Just as it is impossible to discuss intelligently the history of the potato without a reference to those early agriculturists who won and fashioned it, so would it be futile were we to leave undescribed the peculiar setting in which both plant and man evolved their mutual understanding. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
whilst the potato, fact that the potato, conacre land, tuberosum esculentum, area under potatoes, kelp trade, mashed potato powder, cottier system, chromosome formula, maincrop varieties, wheat availability, domestic potato, potato acreage, cottier class, fertile glens, potato trade, potato areas, common potato, secondary leaflets, cooked tubers, quartern loaf, plantarum historia, potato failure, primary leaflets, kelp industry Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Great Britain, Annals of Agric, South America, Sir Robert, General View, Board of Agriculture, Royal Society, Sir John, The Statistical Account of Scotland, United States, Arthur Young, Gaspard Bauhin, Sir Thomas, Sir Walter Raleigh, Western Isles, Coal Line, East Anglia, North Wales, Thomas Southwell, Tristan da Cunha, United Kingdom, British Isles, Covent Garden, English Farming, Hakluyt Soc New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 34
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- State of the Poor by Frederick Morton Eden on 9 pages
- The Industrial Revolution in North Wales by A.H. Dodd on 5 pages
- The Advance of the Fungi by E.C. Large on 4 pages
- The Description of England: The Classic Contemporary Account of Tudor Social Life by William Harrison on page 80, page 424, and Back Matter
- History of England by G. M. Trevelyan on page 388, page 457, and page 458
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- Notes of a Potato Watcher (Texas A&M University Agriculture Series) by James Lang on 4 pages
- Plants, Patients, and the Historian: (Re)membering in the Age of Genetic Engineering (Encounters Cultural History) by Paolo Palladino on page 45, page 183, and Back Matter
- British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) by Colin Spencer in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850 by Brian M. Fagan in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Food In Global History by Raymond Grew on page 28, page 74, and page 192
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