The Untold History of the Potato [a.k.a. Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent]

#564
Title: The Untold History of the Potato [a.k.a. Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent]
Author: John Reader
Publisher: Yale university Press
Year: 2008/2009
336 pages

Reader's sprawling natural history of the potato requires long sections on prehistorical migration to North America, the sociocultural meanings of potatoes, nutrition and birth rates versus quality of life, the blight (of course), how thieves were kept from stealing grapes, development issues in Papua New Guinea and french fries in China,  and many other spud-related topics. He doesn't just report information but takes some time to describe the methods of inquiry used to arrive at these data, which was enjoyable and helps answer my lingering dis-ease (and not lingering disease, which would refer not to me but to the potato) about non-fiction audiobooks where a person can't flip to the references. If you liked Salt, The Tulip, Rats, Tobacco, Coal, Bananas!, Dirt, or The Pencil, why, I imagine you'll like this book as well.