Book Description
Plants seldom figure in the grand narratives of war, peace, or even everyday life yet they are often at the center of high intrigue. In the eighteenth century, epic scientific voyages were sponsored by European imperial powers to explore the natural riches of the New World, and uncover the botanical secrets of its people. Bioprospectors brought back medicines, luxuries, and staples for their king and country. Risking their lives to discover exotic plants, these daredevil explorers joined with their sponsors to create a global culture of botany.
But some secrets were unearthed only to be lost again. In this moving account of the abuses of indigenous Caribbean people and African slaves, Schiebinger describes how slave women brewed the "peacock flower" into an abortifacient, to ensure that they would bear no children into oppression. Yet, impeded by trade winds of prevailing opinion, knowledge of West Indian abortifacients never flowed into Europe. A rich history of discovery and loss, Plants and Empire explores the movement, triumph, and extinction of knowledge in the course of encounters between Europeans and the Caribbean populations.
Customer Reviews:
Adds much to Atlantic history.......2005-04-13
Atlantic history is turning into quite the hot topic these days in various academic circles. When I use the phrase "Atlantic history," I'm not referring to mere narratives dealing with navies or trading vessels, but rather the sweeping arc of political, economic, cultural, and social dynamics of the nations and continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It is a topic that also deals with slavery, piracy, colonialism, revolution, and the rise of capitalism. Histories in this field tend to look at events spanning three or four centuries, usually the 1600s to the 1900s but often greater swaths of time, and how these events arose from the complex interactions of various peoples. I've read quite a few books in this challenging field, from Marcus Rediker's "The Many-Headed Hydra" to Barry Unsworth's fictional novel "Sacred Hunger" to a series of essays from Philip D. Curtin. All three were enlightening in particular ways, but all three couldn't possibly hope to cover every aspect of such an enormous topic. Well, Rediker comes close. But plenty of work still exists for the keen-eyed historian. Enter Londa Schiebinger and her "Plants and Empire: Colonial Bioprospecting in the Atlantic World." Plants, it seems, moved about as much as people during this time frame.
Who collected plants in the New World and took them back to Europe? Were there specific plants sought by European scientists and, if so, which ones and why? These are only a couple of the many questions the author seeks to answer in this book. According to Schiebinger, to find the answers to these vexing questions involves studying the state of botanical study in the 17th and 18th centuries, the role women played in collecting plants and using the medicine distilled from them, the personalities behind the cataloguing of plants, and the various methods used to disseminate knowledge about the medicinal uses of the plants in question. The book explains that the European nation states considered plants a valuable commodity, so much so that kings and princes underwrote the creation of special botanical gardens employing scientists and dozens of men willing to go out into the field to collect specimens. Plants could provide cures for various afflictions or dyes for clothing that could translate into millions in profit for a particular nation. Moreover, the acquisition of material meant fame and fortune for the botanists involved in their collection. Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern scientific classification, pops up in these pages more than once. So do a few women who went out into the field--primarily a man's domain--to write their own treatises on native flora and fauna.
Schiebinger mentions many useful plants, but focuses on one in particular to show how empire building and imperialism manifested itself in such an innocuous activity as botany. The Peacock flower, which grew widely in the Caribbean and was used by local women as a way to end unwanted pregnancies, caught the eye of European collectors quite early. These men even knew what the plant's function was. So were does empire enter the picture? First, Schiebinger argues that doctors and botanists attempted to hide the true use of the plant back home--a process of purposefully obscuring scientific data the author calls agnotology--so that European women would not use the plant to terminate pregnancies. At the same time, doctors and researchers never hesitated to use this plant and other abortifacients in experiments on slaves in the New World. Thus knowledge, or the control of knowledge by male scientists, was used to regulate female reproduction and assert a form of dominance over the native populations in the Caribbean. Moreover, Schiebinger asserts that slaves and conquered populations used the Peacock flower because they didn't want their children to live in bondage. Pretty heavy stuff, wouldn't you say?
The research in the book is impeccable. The author consulted medical books, botanical collections, memoirs, pharmaceutical pamphlets and catalogues, letters, and other pertinent materials to construct a detailed examination of the importance of botany in European expansion and conquest. "Plants and Empire" is at its strongest when arguing that herbal medicines were enormously important to European economic trade, more important than we would think. The book is at its weakest when trying to convince the reader that scientists tried to hide the knowledge of abortifacients from European females. Yes, it does appear that the particular trait of the Peacock flower didn't pop up all over the place, but it did appear in a few journals and reports. Besides, the Europeans had access to a large number of effective abortifacients that worked just as well, if not better, than the Peacock flower. Some of these medicines were still available well into the 20th century. Moreover, the argument that the disappearance of midwives, with their vast knowledge of such "immoral" materials, would result in a loss of this knowledge amongst the general populace seems unlikely. Knowledge, especially "forbidden" knowledge, is surprisingly resistant to any attempts at restriction.
I enjoyed reading Schiebinger's book despite these problems. She's quite a proficient writer, capable of guiding the reader through the often daunting numbers of Latin plant names with the greatest of ease. Too--and I probably shouldn't say this about an academic whose specialty includes gender studies--she's quite attractive if the photograph on the flap is any indication. I could easily see myself sitting in the front row of her class with endearing messages written on my eyelids. Seriously, students of Atlantic history and others who love metahistory would do well to check out this book. It is a fine contribution to the field.
Average customer rating:
- Essential
- Glossy, beautiful, informative
- I want more
- Winery Guide for Wine Country Residents
- Don't go without it
|
Napa Valley: The Ultimate Winery Guide--Revised and Updated, Fourth Edition
Antonia Allegra
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
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The Food Lover's Companion to the Napa Valley: Where to Eat, Cook, and Shop in the Wine Country Plus 50 Irresistible Recipes
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The Wine Lover's Guide to the Wine Country: The Best of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino
ASIN: 0811840883 |
Book Description
Brimming with both magnificent vistas and practical information, Napa Valley is the ultimate guide to a rich region. This new edition is not only fully updated, it includes three marvelous new winery profiles and boasts a fresh interior design -- and a fetching new cover. Whether it's a garden to die for, a tour that tops all the others, spectacular views, or a combination of virtues, these are the places worth seeing, and going back to again and again. Along the way, author Antonia Allegra delivers a lively survey of winemaking and local history and suggests great places to visit. Sidebars give directions, visiting hours, and highlights, and an appendix lists nearly every winery in the area. Illustrated with spectacular full-color photographs on practically every page, Napa Valley is as beautiful as it is informative -- a treasure for those who know Napa Valley as much as for those planning to visit.
Customer Reviews:
Essential.......2007-05-12
This book is all you need to visit Napa. The explanations are great, and the pictures are excellent. If you do not know where to go or which ones to visit in a short stay (needless to say that you can't visit ALL of them unless you are planning to move in), after reading the book you have all the information to make a plan. I loved the detail explanations about the wine tours. Did I mention that the pictures are excellent?
Glossy, beautiful, informative.......2007-04-24
First, let's ignore the oxymoron of the "ultimate" guide's fourth edition - if that first edition was so "ultimate," how come three (so far) came after?
The format is straightforward: two or four pages per winery, with glorious photos of the vineyards, buildings, or other distinguishing features of each winery. The tourist's basics are spelled out on the first of that winery's pages: address and contact information hours of operation, tour arrangements, typical offerings in the tasting room, and tasting fees. A brief, enthusiastic description follows, often with a sound bite or two from the owners.
It's a great help in planning your wine country vacation, or reminder of the good times you had in the Napa valley. Don't expect serious criticism or comparison of the wines - that's for a different book. Do check the information presented, since it's been at least three years (as of this writing) since the most recent edition came out. But dig in and enjoy, since that's what wine and travel are all about.
//wiredweird
I want more.......2002-05-24
I have been researching my vacation to wine country for about a month now and have been unable to find a book that gives an objective viewpoint. I want a book to actually recommend a winery in addition to explaining what the winery has to offer. This book goes over the tours available at most wineries in the area which is helpful, but not exhaustive.
Winery Guide for Wine Country Residents.......2001-05-30
As a California native, and a person who has lived in the Napa Valley and Sonoma County wine country for years, I keep my copy of "Napa Valley The Ultimate Winery Guide" in the trunk of my car. It is not only my guide to wineries in each particular geographic section of Napa Valley, but also my resource for tracking down a certain vintage or type of wine.
It also assists me in planning short excursions during which I may want to visit an art gallery along with a winery, and long weekend tours with friends when I want to give an overview with a bit of everything Napa Valley has to offer: a small town not well-known by tourists, a French-Chateau, the best view in the Valley, wonderful walks and, always, pointers on events--both fixed offerings at each winery and seasonal goings-on. The detailed information and directions make this guide a user-friendly pleasure.
In short, this is a convenient reference book on how to get the most out of Napa Valley...whether you are a resident who hasn't yet had the opportunity to discover all of Ms. Allegra's wonderful finds, or a visitor wanting to pack a variety of the Valley's best into a day or two.
This is a must for anyone visiting Napa Valley, or vicariously enjoying an armchair tour through the beautiful photographs.
Don't go without it.......2001-05-23
If you travel to the Napa Valley without this book, you will commit the unpardonable vacation crime of being uninformed about the must-see, must-taste nooks and crannies of your destination. You can purchase other Napa Valley books, but they won't be this well-written, this beautifully rendered, and this chock-full of mouth-watering recommendations and tips. The authors are true food and wine insiders, and they're not impressed by trendiness for its own sake. If you want the most interesting winery experience possible in the Napa Valley, check out this book.
Book Description
This book provides a detailed account of French history from the oripins of the Thrid Republic, born out of the collapse of Napoleon III's Second Empire, to the coming of the Great WAr in 1914. Part 1 begins with the fall of the "notables" and the victory of the republicans. Then follows a picture of the economy and society of late nineteenth-century France, and an examination of spiritual and cultural development under the increasing threat from nationalist and socialist forces. The moderates' brief ascendancy at the end of the century followed by the extreme sentiments unleashed at the time of the Dreyfus affair, brings the story in Part 2 to a more passionately political period, when the republic finallynbecame established as a bulwark of bourgeois prosperity, witnessing the rise of the banks and big business, and the dangerous revival of colonial expansion.
Customer Reviews:
Third Republic.......2007-06-02
This book is somewhat more scientific than I hoped. Of course it contains a lot of interesting info, exactly what I want, but the writing style is a little dry and photographs are lacking. I am enjoying it anyway!
Average customer rating:
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The Third Republic Defended: Bourgeois Reform in France 1880-1914
Sanford Elwitt
Manufacturer: Louisiana State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0807112941 |
Average customer rating:
- The Alliance of Iron and Wheat in the Third French Republic
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The Alliance of Iron and Wheat in the Third French Republic 1860-1914: Origins of the New Conservatism
Herman Lebovics
Manufacturer: Louisiana State Univ Pr
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0807113506 |
Customer Reviews:
The Alliance of Iron and Wheat in the Third French Republic.......2007-09-22
In this illuminating study, Herman Lebovics offers a provacative and original interpretation of the origins of the conservative stability of the Third Republic in France, using the Great Depression of the late nineteenth century as his focus. According to Lebovics, the new conservative republican order created by the Opportunist politicians and their formally monarchist allies was first made possible by the confluence of narrow economic interests forced upon the bourgeois industrialists and the agrigarian notables by foreign competition, depressed prices, and the beginnings of modern social conflict.
A sense of common economic needs and problems, Lebovics argues, facilitated collaboration among the elites for the passage of protective tarifs such as the Meline tariff of 1892. This sociopolitical alliance, which formed a bedrock of support for a new conservatism, was also forged to deal with the growing discontent of peasants and urban workers.
While the industrialists created a powerful organization to fight for the needs of National Labor, the growers worked to dispel the dissident groups in their provinces. The Ralliement and the development of the colonial empire provided further opportunities for mutually beneficial alliances among the elites. The new ruling stratum completed its work in the ministry of social pacification of Jules Meline between 1896 and 1898.
Lebovics employs a method that unites the social history with the study of socio-economic and political influences. This approach clarifies the pivotal early decades of the new French republic and makes possible a synthetic understanding of the ways a modern French upper class created itself, not in vacuo, but rather in relation to the contending and cooperating forces at that historical conjuncture.
--- from book's dustjacket
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France 1814-1914 (Longman History of France)
Robert Tombs
Manufacturer: Longman Publishing Group
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Binding: Textbook Binding
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ASIN: 0582493145 |
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- the third republic of france- celebrate democracy
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France, 1870-1914 (Seminar Studies in History)
Robert Gildea
Manufacturer: Longman Publishing Group
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ASIN: 0582292212 |
Customer Reviews:
the third republic of france- celebrate democracy.......2000-09-07
after the french revoulution, france has had a lot of changes in the polity of the country. from monarchy to a democratic republic. and so, after france against germany to be war, when france has had a painful defeat, the king had been taken captured and dissapeard, france was left without a leader. after a civil war and by one vote in the national commity it waqs decided- the third republic was on her way. many crisys attaced the republic- from the right side of the map there was the royal people who wante to get their self an extra rights, and from the left side of the political map were the socialits who fighted for the proletariat.panema crisis, bulanje crisic, the drifus trial, all made the republic in risk. this book brings us all the stories and all the events that had became this problematic republic to on of the most developed and enlightened country in the world at that time. this book covering us the road of france from the establish of the republic to the start of world war one. the book shows us the cutting of france from the old world and it amazing join to the modern world.one of the most thrilling story of the end of the 19 century to the beginning of the 20th cuntury.
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France: The Third Republic, 1870-1914 (Access to History)
Keith Randell
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Educational
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ASIN: 0340555696 |
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A History Of The French Senate: The Third Republic 1870-1940 (Studies in French Civilization)
Paul Smith
Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
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ASIN: 0773461310 |
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L'enfer de la IIIe Republique: Censeurs et pornographes, 1881-1914
Annie Stora-Lamarre
Manufacturer: Diffusion P.U.F
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ASIN: 2902702574 |
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La France de la Belle Epoque: 1886 [i.e. 1896]-1914 (Cursus)
Dominique Lejeune
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La IIIe Republique (Histoire politique de la France)
Francois Broche
Manufacturer: Pygmalion
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ASIN: 2857045581 |
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Peruvian Textile Designs (International Design Library)
Caren Caraway
Manufacturer: Stemmer House Publishers
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