Seller
Your price
£107.23
RRP: £130.00
Save £22.77 (18%)
Printed on Demand
Dispatched within 7-9 working days.
Plants and Human Conflict
By (author)
Eran Pichersky
Genres:
Urban communities, Sociology, Agriculture & related industries, Botany & plant sciences, Agricultural science, Horticulture
Trade or Institutional customer? Contact us about large order quotes.
Synopsis
Perhaps the least appreciated dramatis personae in human history are plants. Humans, like all other animals, cannot produce their own food as plants do through photosynthesis, and must therefore acquire organic material for survival and growth by eating plants or by eating other animals that eat plants. Humans depend on plants not only as a food source, but also as building and clothing materials and as sources of medicines, psychoactive substances, spices, pigments, and more. With plants being such valuable resources, it is therefore not surprising that plants have been involved in practically all violent conflicts among different human societies. Ironically, plants have also been the source of materials to construct weapons or weapon parts.
Wars have always constituted a large part of human history, and the overall theme of this book is that to understand the history of violent human conflict, we need to understand what specific materials plants make that people find so useful and worth fighting over, and what roles such plant products have played in specific conflicts. To do so, Plants and Human Conflict begins with a chapter explaining the basic biological facts of the interdependence between plants and humans, and the subsequent seven chapters describe the physical and chemical properties of specific plant products demonstrating how the human need for these products has led to wars as well as contributed to the prosecution of wars. These chapters recount some well-known (and some lesser known) historical events in which plants have played a central role.
This book uniquely combines the modern scientific knowledge of plants with the human history of war, introducing readers to a new paradigm that will make them reconsider their understanding of human history, as well as to bring about a greater appreciation of plant biology. New & Used
| Seller | Information | Condition | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | - | New | £107.23 + FREE UK P & P |
What Reviewers Are Saying
"A book with this title could go in many different directions, and the author has developed his narrative in a way that will be of great interest to those who find fascination with the topic of how plants have helped shape the trajectory of human conflict. One influence is that plants can be a desirable resource, the market for which nations or cultures have fought to control. An example is opium (Papaver somniferum L.) and the Opium Wars in the mid-19th century pitting Britain against China. Along the way, the reader learns a great deal about opium and its byproducts including morphine, codeine, and heroin, information ranging from chemical composition and centuries-old use to the physiological effects on the human body.
There are eight most interesting chapters in this book, the first starting with the well-known paradigm that nations seek to control land on which economically important plants, such as rare spices, are found, and the desire to benefit from such natural resources has resulted in war. The author also makes a convincing case that grains have been the perfect form of food to fuel an army on its way to conquer another's territory, and that destroying grain crops can be a way to impede a soldier's defensive capability. I found the discussion on the use of wood in both land and sea warfare quite fascinatin. [...]
The level of precision and detail that the author brings to this volume is also the great strength of this scholarly work, which draws from many different disciplinary perspectives. [...] it is about human behavior, and how plants have been an essential element or partner in directing the course of that behavior. As it is filled with interesting historical information about commonly known plants, it would make a useful classroom reference, not only to serve as the basis for discussions but also to provide a lens by which other elements of the relationship between plants and people can be examined."
MICHAEL J. BALICK, INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC BOTANY "A book with this title could go in many different directions, and the author has developed his narrative in a way that will be of great interest to those who find fascination with the topic of how plants have helped shape the trajectory of human conflict. [...]
The level of precision and detail that the author brings to this volume is also the great strength of this scholarly work, which draws from many different disciplinary perspectives.
[...] it is about human behavior, and how plants have been an essential element or partner in directing the course of that behavior. As it is filled with interesting historical information about commonly known plants, it would make a useful classroom reference, not only to serve as the basis for discussions but also to provide a lens by which other elements of the relationship between plants and people can be examined."
MICHAEL J. BALICK, INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC BOTANY
There are eight most interesting chapters in this book, the first starting with the well-known paradigm that nations seek to control land on which economically
The level of precision and detail that the author brings to this volume is also the great strength of this scholarly work, which draws from many different disciplinary
MICHAEL J. BALICK, INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC BOTANY "A book with this title could go in many different directions, and the author has developed his narrative in a way that will be of great interest to those who find fascination with the topic of how plants have helped shape the trajectory of human conflict. [...]
The level of precision and detail that the author brings to this volume is also the great strength of this scholarly work, which draws from many different disciplinary
[...] it is about human behavior, and how plants have been an essential element or partner in directing the course of that behavior. As it is filled with interesting historical information about commonly known plants, it would make a useful classroom reference, not only to serve as the basis for discussions but also to provide a lens by which other elements of the relationship
MICHAEL J. BALICK, INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC BOTANY