Michael Pollan's Reading List

Getting to read fiction purely for pleasure is the carrot I hold out for myself as a reward for the work of reporting and writing, says the author, whose new book is This Is Your Mind on Plants.

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By the Book: Michael Pollan (2021)

NYT By the Book column (2021-07-08).

Source: www.nytimes.com

The Overstory

Richard Powers · 2018 · Buy on Amazon

"The Overstory, by Richard Powers, is a book that, the further I am from reading it, looms larger and larger in my imagination."

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin · Buy on Amazon

"My mother recommended it, and I was astonished by how powerful it is. And by how a prominent Black writer could claim the freedom to write a novel in which race doesn't figure at all."

On Drugs

David Lenson · Buy on Amazon

"David Lenson's On Drugs is the smartest book I've read on the role of psychoactive compounds in our lives and culture."

Entangled Life

Merlin Sheldrake · Buy on Amazon

"Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life and Andrea Wulf's biography of Alexander von Humboldt, The Invention of Nature, were both full of revelations as well as gorgeous prose."

The Invention of Nature

Andrea Wulf · Buy on Amazon

"Andrea Wulf's biography of Alexander von Humboldt, The Invention of Nature, were both full of revelations as well as gorgeous prose."

Food Politics

Marion Nestle · Buy on Amazon

"Three books shaped my understanding of food and agriculture as a system: In the U.S. context, Food Politics, by Marion Nestle."

Fast Food Nation

Eric Schlosser · Buy on Amazon

"Three books shaped my understanding of food and agriculture as a system: Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser."

Stuffed and Starved

Raj Patel · Buy on Amazon

"Three books shaped my understanding of food and agriculture as a system: Stuffed and Starved, by Raj Patel."

Coffeeland

Augustine Sedgewick · Buy on Amazon

"I learned about this in a terrific work of history published last year: Coffeeland, by Augustine Sedgewick."

The Curse of Bigness

Tim Wu · Buy on Amazon

"Tim Wu's The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age."

Favorite books (2023)

Favorite books recommended by Michael Pollan, as compiled by radicalreads.com. Source article: https://radicalreads.com/michael-pollan-favorite-books/.

Source: radicalreads.com

The Essential Writings

Ralph Waldo Emerson (also rec’d by MLK ) · Buy on Amazon

"Sentence by sentence, some of the most stimulating thoughts anywhere."

The Odyssey

Homer (also rec’d by Bob Dylan , Jay-Z , Kazuo Ishiguro , Nick Cave & Yara Shahidi ) · Buy on Amazon

"…And not just because there are so many great barbecue scenes. (Henry Fielding called The Odyssey’s ‘Homer’s wonderful book about eating,’ and wasn’t too far off.) But there’s lots to be learn about story structure too, and why it’s often a good idea to begin in the middle."

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