Every Book by Michael Pollan

a list by Peter, the avid reader who runs Flashlight Worthy

While best known for breakthrough "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Michael Pollan has a small handful of other books -- all excellent. In my opinion, part of what makes his material so accessible is his background as a journalist -- journalists usually write excellent books.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/In_Defense_of_Food_An_Eaters_Manifesto_2008');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/1594201455'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/In_Defense_of_Food_An_Eaters_Manifesto_2008');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/1594201455'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (2008) by Michael Pollan This book is an excellent companion to "The Omnivore's Dilemma," but also stands very well on its own. It's very brief (about 250 pages) and very important (it helps you decide how to eat healthily -- what's more important than that?). In sum, Pollan offers a simple set of rules to help you choose the foods your body evolved to eat. I'm not crazy strict about my diet in any way, but what he wrote opened my eyes and caused me to make changes to my diet that were small and easy... but still extremely important. Do yourself a favor -- read this book. onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/In_Defense_of_Food_An_Eaters_Manifesto_2008');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/In_Defense_of_Food_An_Eaters_Manifesto_2008');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/1594201455'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 256 page hardcover \|$13.75 \|133 reviews This book also appears on 6 Books You Should Read Before You Open Your Mouth


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/The_Omnivores_Dilemma_A_Natural_History_of_Four_Meals_2006');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0143038583'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/The_Omnivores_Dilemma_A_Natural_History_of_Four_Meals_2006');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0143038583'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006) by Michael Pollan I very occasionally come across a book I enjoy so much, that I buy copies for friends and more or less force them to read it. This is one of those books. The book is pretty straightforward. Pollan follows 4 kinds of meals from planting (or birth), through harvest (or slaughter), and onto the table. The 4 kinds are: Fast Food (a McDonald's Happy Meal), "Industrial" Organic (the organic food you see at major supermarkets), "Beyond Organic" (the food you see at health food stores and farmer's markets) and "Hunter/Gatherer" (Yep, he gathers mushrooms, picks cherries, and hunts a wild boar). The book's not preachy (he saves that for "In Defense of Food"), it's not especially gross (that was covered by Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation"), and it's very, very important. Read it. onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/The_Omnivores_Dilemma_A_Natural_History_of_Four_Meals_2006');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/The_Omnivores_Dilemma_A_Natural_History_of_Four_Meals_2006');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0143038583'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 464 page paperback \|$9.35 \|418 reviews This book also appears on: 6 Books You Should Read Before You Open Your Mouth Peter Steinberg's Favorite Non-Fiction


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/The_Botany_of_Desire_A_PlantsEye_View_of_the_World_2001');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0375760393'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/The_Botany_of_Desire_A_PlantsEye_View_of_the_World_2001');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0375760393'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World (2001) by Michael Pollan This is the only Pollan book I haven't read, but Amazon says: Working in his garden one day, Michael Pollan hit pay dirt in the form of an idea: do plants, he wondered, use humans as much as we use them? While the question is not entirely original, the way Pollan examines this complex co-evolution by looking at the natural world from the perspective of plants is unique. The result is a fascinating and engaging look at the true nature of domestication. onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/The_Botany_of_Desire_A_PlantsEye_View_of_the_World_2001');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/The_Botany_of_Desire_A_PlantsEye_View_of_the_World_2001');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0375760393'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 304 page paperback \|$10.20 \|160 reviews


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder_1997');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385319908'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder_1997');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385319908'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder (1997) by Michael Pollan A nice little book in which Pollan documents his hands-on building of a small one-room structure on his property to write, read and daydream. In typical Pollan fashion, the book isn't just about building and architecture, but disparate topics such as the taking on of daunting tasks and the origin of mid-life crises. onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder_1997');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder_1997');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385319908'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 336 page paperback \|$52.21 \|17 reviews


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/Second_Nature_A_Gardeners_Education_1991');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0802140114'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/Second_Nature_A_Gardeners_Education_1991');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0802140114'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Second Nature: A Gardener's Education (1991) by Michael Pollan This might have been the first Pollan book I read. It's similar to "A Place of My Own" in that Pollan takes you along as he educates himself in a physical task -- in this case, the restoration of an extensive garden at his home in rural Connecticut. All in all, if you enjoy the outdoors or any kind of physical labor, you'll find it a nice read. onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/Second_Nature_A_Gardeners_Education_1991');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Every_Book_by_Michael_Pollan/Second_Nature_A_Gardeners_Education_1991');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0802140114'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 320 page paperback \|$10.20 \|23 reviews This book also appears on The American Horticultural Society's 75 Great American Gardening Books

Know any books we should add to the list above? .