The Triumph of Seeds: How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses, and Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History

272 Pages·2015·3.45 MB·English

by  Thor Hanson

THE TRIUMPH OF SEEDS
ALSO BY THOR HANSON
Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle
The Impenetrable Forest: Gorilla Years in Uganda

Copyright © 2015 by Thor Hanson Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group All
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Some material in this book has been reprinted from previously published works. The quotation from The
Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss (1945) is used by permission of HarperCollins. Quotations from The Botany of
Desire by Michael Pollan (2001) and from Tastes of Paradise by Wolfgang Schivelbusch (1992) are used
by permission of Random House. The quotation from Empires of Food by Evan D. G. Fraser and Andrew
Rimas (2010) is used with the permission of Simon & Schuster. Quotations from Guns, Germs, and Steel by
Jared Diamond (1999) and from A River Lost by Blaine Harden (1996) are used by permission of W. W.
Norton.
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Designed by Trish Wilkinson Set in 10.5 point Goudy Oldstyle Std Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data Hanson, Thor, author.
The triumph of seeds : how grains, nuts, kernels, pulses, and pips, conquered the plant kingdom and
shaped human history / Thor Hanson.
pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-465-04872-4 (e-book) 1. Seeds. I. Title.
QK661.H36 2015
581.4’67—dc23
2014047078
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Eliza and Noah
Contents
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Preface: “Heed!”
INTRODUCTION The Fierce Energy
Seeds Nourish
CHAPTER ONE Seed for a Day
CHAPTER TWO The Staff of Life
CHAPTER THREE Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut
Seeds Unite
CHAPTER FOUR What the Spike Moss Knows
CHAPTER FIVE Mendel’s Spores
Seeds Endure
CHAPTER SIX Methuselah
CHAPTER SEVEN Take It to the Bank
Seeds Defend
CHAPTER EIGHT By Tooth, Beak, and Gnaw
CHAPTER NINE The Riches of Taste
CHAPTER TEN The Cheeriest Beans
CHAPTER ELEVEN Death by Umbrella
Seeds Travel
CHAPTER TWELVE Irresistible Flesh
CHAPTER THIRTEEN By Wind and Wave
CONCLUSION The Future of Seeds
Appendix A: Common and Scientific Names
Appendix B: Seed Conservation
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Author’s Note
T
hroughout this book I have chosen to stick with a functional definition of
seeds, acknowledging that in some cases the seed-like part of a plant
might also include tissues derived from the fruit (e.g., the shell of a nut). The
text includes only common names of plants, but a complete list of all Latin
binomials is included in Appendix A. I’ve tried to keep botanical jargon to an
absolute minimum, or explain it with context, but have also compiled a short
glossary (also at the back of the book). Finally, I encourage readers not to
neglect the notes for each chapter. They include a wealth of juicy seed lore that
couldn’t be squeezed into the narrative, but was too good to leave out entirely.
Acknowledgments
I
n writing this book I have relied on the help and patience of a huge range of
generous people. Here, in no particular order, is a partial list of those who
have given assistance along the way—granting interviews, loaning books and
papers, answering questions, and even pitching in with some timely babysitting:
Carol and Jerry Baskin, Christina Walters, Robert Haggerty, Bill DiMichele,
Fred Johnson, John Deutch, Derek Bewley, Patrick Kirby, Richard Wrangham,
Sam White, Michael Black, Chris Looney, Ole J. Benedictow, Micaela Colley,
Amy Grondin, John Navazio, Matthew Dillon, Sarah Shallon, Elaine Solowey,
Hugh Pritchard, Howard Falcon-Lang, Matt Stimson, Scott Elrick, Stanislav
Opluštil, Bob Sievers, Phil Cox, Robert Druzinsky, Greg Adler, David Strait,
Judy Chupasko, Diane Ott Whealy, Sophie Rouys, Pam Stuller, Noelle
Machnicki, Chelsey Walker-Watson, Brandon Paul Weaver, Hiroshi Ashihara,
Jeri Wright, Ronald Griffiths, Chifumi Nagai, Steve Meredith, David Newman,
Richard Cummings, Giovanni Giustina, Jason Werden, Erin Braybrook, the
International Spy Museum, Valéria Forni Martins, Mark Stout, Al and Nellie
Habegger, Thomas Boghardt, Ira Pastan, Kirsten Gallaher, Uno Eliasson,
Jonathan Wendel, Duncan Porter, Charles Moseley, Boyd Pratt, Bella French,
Paul Hanson, Aaron Burmeister, Nason and Erica Hamlin, John Dickie, Suzanne
Olive, Amy Stewart, Derek and Susan Arndt, Kathleen Ballard, and Chris
Weaver.
I am indebted to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for
granting me a fellowship specifically in support of the writing of this book. The
Leon Levy Foundation also contributed generously to that fellowship.
Special thanks for help with research go to the University of Idaho Library
and to the San Juan Island Library, with particular appreciation for the patience
and diligence of Interlibrary Loan Coordinator Heidi Lewis.
I’m grateful for the talents and enthusiasm of my agent, Laura Blake