Harvest: The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects

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Synopsis
‘An exceptional first book; Harvest is a subtle, fascinating braiding of travel, cultural and natural history … It is a pleasure and an education to journey with him in these pages’ Robert MacfarlaneIn a centuries-old tradition, farmers in northwestern Iceland scour remote coastal plains for the down of nesting eider ducks.High inside a vast cave in Borneo, men perched atop rickety ladders collect swiftlets’ nests, a delicacy believed to be a cure for almost anything.Eiderdown and edible birds’ nests: both are luxury products, ultimately destined for the super-rich. To the rest of the world these materials are mere commodities but to the harvesters they are all imbued with myth, tradition, folklore and ritual, and form part of a shared identity and history.These objects are two of the seven natural wonders whose stories Harvest tells: eiderdown, vicuña wool, sea silk, vegetable ivory, civet coffee, guano and edible birds’ nests. Harvest follows their journey from the wildest parts of the planet, traversing Iceland, Indonesia, and Peru, to its urban centres, drawing on the voices of the gatherers, shearers and entrepreneurs who harvest, process and trade them.Blending interviews, history and travel writing, Harvest sets these human stories against our changing economic and ecological landscape. What do they tell us about capitalism, global market forces and overharvesting? How does a local micro-economy survive in a hyper-connected world?Harvest makes us see the world with wonder, curiosity and new concern. It is an original and magical new map of our world and its riches.
Copyright:
2019

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9781473524453
Related ISBNs:
9781847923875
Publisher:
Random House
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Edward Posnett
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Travel, Outdoors and Nature, Social Studies, Earth Sciences
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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