Alison Reads

The author examines five plants that have changed the course of human history: quinine, sugar, tea, cotton, and potatoes. Quinine cured malaria and allowed European colonists to expand their empires around the globe. The increasing popularity of sugar in Europe required workers who could tolerate the tropical heat where sugar cane was grown, so black Africans were transported to the Caribbean and slavery in the New World for hundreds of years. An interesting book.