Potato : a history of the propitious esculent / John Reader.

Previously published as Propitious esculent by William Heinemann in 2008.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-305) and index.

South America -- To Mars from the Andes -- What exactly is a potato? -- Domestication -- Whence have they come? -- A dainty dish -- Europe -- The lonely impulse of delight -- The way it was -- The demoralising esculent -- Where the praties grow -- Sees of famine -- Woe the sons of Adam! -- The world -- The fatal malady -- Co-opting science -- Men on a mission -- Global voyage -- Developing worlds -- for the price of apples.

Print version record.

Photojournalist Reader (Africa: A Biography of the Continent) traces the humble potato from its roots in the Peruvian Andes to J.R. Simplot's multibillion-dollar-a-year French fry business. Despite its predilection to disease, the potato is a highly adaptable, high-yield, and nutrient-packed foodstuff. While this title focuses primarily on the potato's presence in South America and Europe, it also touches on Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and China-currently the world's largest producer and consumer of potatoes. Verdict: Curiously little attention is paid to the tuber's contributions to the culinary and beverage landscape; the UK subtitle of this work, "The Potato in World History," provides a more accurate description of the focus of the text.

English.

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