Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History

In this fascinating investigation into history-altering flora, author Bill Laws explores the plants and crops that have had the biggest impact on the trajectory of the world. Some of these plants are familiar to most, and will be easily remembered from high school history courses: tobacco, sugar, rice, tea, wheat, wine grapes, corn, and other vital resources established global trade routes and dictated the agricultural policies of entire nations. But some of the plants in this book may surprise you. From agave, used not just for tequila but for poison arrows and bullets, to pineapples, which are almost singlehandedly responsible for the proliferation of greenhouses, Laws digs deep into the strange ripple effect that various plants have had on human life. Any historian will find this book to be a page-turner.