Editorial Review:

A personal and highly original take on the history of six commercial plants, Seeds of Change illuminates how sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, quinine, and the cocoa plant have shaped our past. In this fascinating account, the impassioned Henry Hobhouse explains the consequences of these plants with attention-grabbing historical moments. While most records of history focus on human influence, Hobhouse emphasizes how plants too are a central and influential factor in the historical process. Seeds of Change is a captivating and invaluable addition to our understanding of modern culture.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

This book is ahistorical:

For my research at this time, I only read the section on sugar. This section was filled with historical errors and biased, prejudiced language. Very few of his interpretations were orthodox. . He lumped all Arabs together as always having a low opinion of physical work. Furthermore, according to Hobhouse, they have all enjoyed making trade agreements, all the time. He cited Arabs as having been partly responsible for African race-based slave trade. This was not accurate; Europeans did not use intermediaries... more info

His own way with words:

This book consists of a collection of historical essays about six plants: quinine, sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, and coca. For each plant, the author provides historical information about when it first began to be used (especially by Westerners), and how its use spread across the planet. Some of the information was quite interesting, particularly since the author is British and presents the material from a British point-of-view, emphasizing facts that may be less familiar to Americans. Unfortunately, no... more info

An insightful book:

I havn't read this book in a while but came across an editorial by Hobhouse recently and I thought I'd check to see if it's still in print. I recall some rather strange notions about our 'current' lack of fiber in our diet and the dire effect it may have, but in most areas where he dosn't range too far afield it's a good read. A reader above found the book racist but I don't recall anything like that. If you like Hobhouse try to dig up Edgar Andersons ' ' Plants Man and Life'. Not an inspired title but a... more info

An insightful book:

I havn't read this book in a while but came across an editorial by Hobhouse recently and I thought I'd check to see if it's still in print. I recall some rather strange notions about our 'current' lack of fiber in our diet and the dire effect it may have, but in most areas where he dosn't range too far afield it's a good read. A reader above found the book racist but I don't recall anything like that. If you like Hobhouse try to dig up Edgar Andersons ' ' Plants Man and Life'. Not an inspired title but a... more info

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