Search results for ""author michael pollan""

THE NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR NEW NETFLIX SERIES'Reminds us that the mind is the greatest mystery in the universe' Yuval Noah Harari, Guardian, Books of the YearCould psychedelic drugs change our worldview? Join Michael Pollan on a journey to the frontiers of the human mind.Diving deep into an extraordinary world - from shamans and magic mushroom hunts to the pioneering labs mapping our brains - and putting himself forward as a guinea-pig, Michael Pollan has written a remarkable history of psychedelics and a compelling portrait of the new generation of scientists fascinated by the implications of these drugs. How to Change Your Mind is a report from what could very well be the future of consciousness.'A sweeping and often thrilling chronicle of the history of psychedelics, all interwoven with Pollan's adventures as a psychedelic novice. This is a serious work of history and science, but also one in which the author, under the influence of toad venom, becomes convinced he's giving birth to himself' Oliver Burkeman, Guardian'A mind-altering book ... full of transformations' Richard Godwin, Evening Standard'An irresistible blend of history, research and personal experience. In terms of the psychedelic wave, the book is the big kahuna, the Big Bang moment for a movement that is gathering force' John McKenna, Irish Times'Entertaining and engrossing' Paul Laity, Financial Times'Deeply absorbing, wise and beautifully written' Mick Brown, Literary Review'An astounding book' Andrew Sullivan, New York Magazine

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Michael Pollan's In Defence of Food is a simple invitation to junk the science, ditch the diet and instead rediscover the joys of eating well. This book is a celebration of food. By food, Michael Pollan means real, proper, simple food - not the kind that comes in a packet, or has lists of unpronounceable ingredients, or that makes nutritional claims about how healthy it is. More like the kind of food your great-grandmother would recognize. By following a few pieces of advice (Eat at a table - a desk doesn't count. Don't buy food where you'd buy your petrol!), you will enrich your life and your palate, and enlarge your sense of what it means to be healthy and happy. It's time to fall in love with food again. 'Brings home the real wonder of eating food' Sunday Times 'Instantly makes redundant all diet books and 99 per cent of discussions around healthy eating ... Sense, at last' Daily Mail 'Pollan invites us to grab our pots and pans and cook some real food for dinner' Time Out 'Read this witty book for a healthier life and diet' The Times 'Eminently sensible' Fay Maschler, Keynote 'A must-read ... satisfying, rich ... loaded with flavour' Sunday Telegraph For the past twenty years, Michael Pollan has been writing about the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: food, agriculture, gardens, drugs, and architecture. His most recent book, about the ethics and ecology of eating, is The Omnivore's Dilemma, named one of the ten best books of 2006 by the New York Times and the Washington Post. He is also the author of The Botany of Desire, A Place of My Own and Second Nature.

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By the bestselling author of The Omnivore''s Dilemma, this is Michael Pollan''s ingenious companion book about the surprising and close relationship between people and plants.In this entertaining young readers edition of the environmental studies classic, Michael Pollan demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a reciprocal relationship. He links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, energy, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, coffee, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also helped them to thrive.The Botany of Desire is perfect for STEM-focused young readers who want to learn more about: human history, biology, and environmentalism climate change and its impact on o

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THE INSPIRATION FOR THE NEW NETFLIX SERIES 'It's not often that a life-changing book falls into one's lap ... Yet Michael Pollan's Cooked is one of them.' SundayTelegraph'This is a love song to old, slow kitchen skills at their delicious best' Kathryn Huges, GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEARThe New York Times Top Five Bestseller - Michael Pollan's uniquely enjoyable quest to understand the transformative magic of cookingMichael Pollan's Cooked takes us back to basics and first principles: cooking with fire, with water, with air and with earth.Meeting cooks from all over the world, who share their wisdom and stories, Pollan shows how cooking is at the heart of our culture and that when it gets down to it, it also fundamentally shapes our lives.Filled with fascinating facts and curious, mouthwatering tales from cast of eccentrics, Cooked explores the deepest mysteries of how and why we cook.

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In sixty-four bite-sized pieces of advice, Michael Pollan's Food Rules tells you everything you need to know to eat healthily, dine happily and live well. Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much. Using those seven simple words as his guide, internationally-acclaimed food journalist Michael Pollan offers this indispensable handbook for anyone concerned about health and food. Sensible, easy to use and written in plain English, Food Rules is a set of memorable adages or designed to help you eat real food in reasonable amounts, gathered from a wide variety of sources: nutritionists, anthropologists, ancient cultures - and grandmothers. Whether at the supermarket, a restaurant or an all-you-can-eat buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is the perfect manual for anyone who would like to become more mindful of the food we eat. 'In more than four decades I have come across nothing more intelligent, sensible and simple to follow than these principles' The New York Times 'Instantly makes redundant all diet books and 99 per cent of discussions around healthy eating ... Sense, at last' Daily Mail, praise for In Defence of Food 'Pollan invites us to grab our pots and pans and cook some real food for dinner' Time Out, praise for In Defence of Food 'Read this witty book for a healthier life and diet' The Times, praise for In Defence of Food Michael Pollan has been writing for over twenty years about the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: food, agriculture, gardens, drugs, and architecture. The Omnivore's Dilemma, about the ethics and ecology of eating, was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by the New York Times and the Washington Post. He is also the author of The Botany of Desire, A Place of My Own and Second Nature and, most recently, In Defence of Food.

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What shall we have for dinner? Such a simple question has grown to have a very complicated answer. We can eat almost anything nature has to offer, but deciding what we should eat stirs anxiety. Should we choose the organic apple or the conventional? If organic, local or imported? Wild fish or farmed? Low-carb or low-cal? As the American culture of fast food and unlimited choice invades the world, Pollan follows his next meal from land to table, tracing the origin of everything consumed and the implications for ourselves and our planet. His astonishing findings will shock all who care about what they put on their plate.

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A farmer cultivates genetically modified potatoes so that a customer at McDonald's half a world away can enjoy a long, golden french fry. A gardener plants tulip bulbs in the autumn and in the spring has a riotous patch of colour to admire. Two simple examples of how humans act on nature to get what we want. Or are they? What if those potatoes and tulips have evolved to gratify certain human desires so that humans will help them multiply? What if, in other words, these plants are using us just as we use them? In blending history, memoir and superb science writing, Pollan tells the story of four domesticated species - the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato. All four plants are integral to our everyday lives and Pollan demonstrates how each has thrived by satisfying one of humankind's most basic desires. Weaving fascinating anecdote and accessible science, Pollan takes the reader on an absorbing journey through the landscape of botany and desire. It is a journey that will change the way we think about our place in nature

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‘…The high priest of fermentation theory’ the Guardian ‘Sandor Katz’s teachings and writings on fermentation have changed lives around the world.’ Dan Saladino, The Food Programme BBC The bible for the D.I.Y set: detailed instructions for how to make your own sauerkraut, beer, yogurt and pretty much everything involving microorganisms. The New York Times International New York Times bestseller, translated into 10 languages and over a quarter of a million copies sold worldwide New York Times bestseller The Art of Fermentation is the only fermentation guide you’ll ever need! In this book, fermentation revivalist Katz contextualises fermentation in terms of biological and cultural evolution, gut health, immunity, nutrition and even economics. Here, you will find the A to Z of everything you need to know about fermentation. From the novice fermentationist to the experienced practitioner, this book has something in it for everyone. With beautiful illustrations and extended references you will find details on making: fermenting vegetables sugars into alcohol (meads, wines, and ciders) sour tonic beverages Milk Grains and starchy tubers beers (and other grain-based alcoholic beverages) beans; seeds; nuts fish; meat; and eggs growing mold cultures Kimchi, kraut kombucha, kefir Sandor Katz’s award-winning writing and in-depth knowledge as a fermentation revivalist guarantees that this book will remain a classic in food writing and the first guide of its kind. Perfect for cooks, food lovers, fermentation enthusiasts, farmers and foragers alike!

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We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing expose, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition really works and how it affects our health. The abundance of food in the United States - enough calories to meet the needs of every man, woman, and child twice over - has a downside. Our over-efficient food industry must do everything possible to persuade people to eat more - more food, more often, and in larger portions - no matter what it does to waistlines or well-being. Like manufacturing cigarettes or building weapons, making food is big business. Food companies in 2000 generated nearly $900 billion in sales. They have stakeholders to please, shareholders to satisfy, and government regulations to deal with. It is nevertheless shocking to learn precisely how food companies lobby officials, co-opt experts, and expand sales by marketing to children, members of minority groups, and people in developing countries. We learn that the food industry plays politics as well as or better than other industries, not least because so much of its activity takes place outside the public view. Editor of the 1988 "Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health", Nestle is uniquely qualified to lead us through the maze of food industry interests and influences. She vividly illustrates food politics in action: watered-down government dietary advice, schools pushing soft drinks, diet supplements promoted as if they were First Amendment rights. When it comes to the mass production and consumption of food, strategic decisions are driven by economics - not science, not common sense, and certainly not health. No wonder most of us are thoroughly confused about what to eat to stay healthy. An accessible and balanced account, "Food Politics" will forever change the way we respond to food industry marketing practices. By explaining how much the food industry influences government nutrition policies and how cleverly it links its interests to those of nutrition experts, this path-breaking book helps us understand more clearly than ever before what we eat and why.

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Now a major Netflix documentaryA Sunday Times Food Book of the Year and a New York Times bestsellerWinner of the Fortnum & Mason Best Debut Food Book 2018While cooking at Chez Panisse at the start of her career, Samin Nosrat noticed that amid the chaos of the kitchen there were four key principles that her fellow chefs would always fall back on to make their food better: Salt, Fat, Acid and Heat.By mastering these four variables, Samin found the confidence to trust her instincts in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients. And with her simple but revolutionary method, she has taught masterclasses to give both professionals and amateurs the skills to cook instinctively. Whether you want to balance your vinaigrette, perfectly caramelise your roasted vegetables or braise meltingly tender stews, Samin's canon of 100 essential recipes and their dozens of variations will teach you how.

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A leading plant scientist offers a new understanding of the botanical world and a passionate argument for intelligent plant life. Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? For centuries, philosophers and scientists have argued that plants are unthinking and inert, yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged this idea, shedding new light on the complex interior lives of plants. In Brilliant Green, leading scientist Stefano Mancuso presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. He argues that plants process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one another- showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware. Part botany lesson, part manifesto, Brilliant Green is an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdom.

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In her wise and elegant new book, Jane Goodall blends her experience in nature with her enthusiasm for botany to give readers a deeper understanding of the world around us.Long before her work with chimpanzees, Goodall's passion for the natural world sprouted in the backyard of her childhood home in England, where she climbed her beech tree and made elderberry wine with her grandmother. The garden her family began then, she continues to enjoy today. SEEDS OF HOPE takes us from England to Goodall's home-away-from-home in Africa, deep inside the Gombe forest, where she and the chimpanzees are enchanted by the fig and plum trees they encounter. She introduces us to botanists around the world, as well as places where hope for plants can be found, such as The Millennium Seed Bank, where one billion seeds are preserved. She shows us the secret world of plants with all their mysteries and potential for healing our bodies as well as Planet Earth.Looking at the world as an adventurer, scientist, and devotee of sustainable foods and gardening-and setting forth simple goals we can all take to protect the plants around us-Jane Goodall delivers an enlightening story of the wonders we can find in our own backyards.

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Confucius called them the "king of fragrant plants," and John Ruskin condemned them as "prurient apparitions." Across the centuries, orchids have captivated us with their elaborate exoticism, their powerful perfumes, and their sublime seductiveness. But the disquieting beauty of orchids is an unplanned marvel of evolution, and the story of orchids is as captivating as any novel. As acclaimed writer Michael Pollan and National Geographic photographer Christian Ziegler spin tales of orchid conquest in "Deceptive Beauties: The World of Wild Orchids", we learn how these flowers forests to the Arctic, from semi deserts to rocky mountainsides; how their shapes, colors, and scents are, as Darwin put it, "beautiful contrivances" meant to dupe pollinating male insects in the strangest ways. What other flowers, after all, can mimic the pheromones and even appearance of female insects, so much so that some male bees prefer sex with the orchids over sex with their own kind? And insects aren't the only ones to fall for the orchids' charms. Since the "orchidelirium" of the Victorian era, humans have braved the wilds to search them out and devoted copious amounts of time and money propagating and hybridizing, nurturing and simply gazing at them. This astonishing book features over 150 unprecedented color photographs taken by Christian Ziegler himself as he trekked through wilderness on five continents to capture the diversity and magnificence of orchids in their natural habitats. His intimate and astonishing images allow us to appreciate up close nature's most intoxicating and deceptive beauties.

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Winner of the 2015 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Award Forewords by Alice Waters and Michael Pollan In this dazzling, full color cookbook and kitchen manual filled with lush photographs and beautiful drawings, the chef of Alice Waters' Chez Panisse offers basic techniques and essential recipes that will transform anyone into a confident home cook. When his oldest son was leaving for college, Cal Peternell, the chef of San Francisco's legendary Chez Panisse, realized that, although he regularly made dinners for his family, he'd never taught them the basics of cooking. Based on the life-altering course of instruction he prepared and honed through many phone calls with his son, Twelve Recipes is the ultimate introduction to the kitchen. Peternell focuses on the core foods and dishes that comprise a successful home cook's arsenal, each building skill upon skill-from toast, eggs, and beans, to vinaigrettes, pasta with tomato, and rice, to vegetables, soup, meats, and cake. Twelve Recipes will help home cooks develop a core repertoire of skills and increase their culinary confidence. Peternell tells you what basic ingredients and tools you need for a particular recipe, and then adds variations to expand your understanding. Each tip, instruction, and recipe connects with others to weave into a larger story that illuminates the connection between food and life. A deeply personal book, it was written by the chef alone and it glows with warmth and humor as he mulls over such mundane items as toast and rice to offer surprising new insights about foods that only seem exceedingly ordinary. It's a book you're as likely to keep by your bedside as your stovetop. With Peternell as your guide, the journey is pure pleasure and the destination is delicious. Twelve Recipes features gorgeous color photos and inset illustrations by Peternell's wife and sons (all artists), and forewords by celebrated chef Alice Waters and New York Times columnist and bestselling author Michael Pollan.

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