Potato

Author: (USA) Zuckerman Translator: Li Yiqing United States/America
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The potato is a stable, reliable, and nutritious crop. It is far from an ordinary small player; its importance in Western social history is no less than that of cars and railways. The Great Irish Famine of the 1840s was caused by large-scale potato crop failures, hence it was called the "Potato Famine." Today, the potato is a staple food for Americans and Europeans, but when it first arrived on the European continent two centuries ago, it was mocked for its bumpy appearance and its identity as a "tuber"—many considered it food for the lower classes. Author Larry Zuckerman, drawing on extensive research, outlines the extraordinary history of the potato from the perspectives of society, politics, economics, and its relationship with humanity.