The Ethnobotany of Eden

"""It is about time that a scholar criticizes the 'jungle narrative' that the rainforest is full of undeveloped medicines that can save us (i.e. the Western world) from disease. Based on sound scientific data, personal field experiences, and relevant literature, Voeks's clear and well-written argument against the general cliches of ethnobotany, medicinal plants, indigenous peoples, traditional knowledge, and rainforests is original and refreshing. Especially in this time of fake news, racial debates, and environmental destruction, I welcome this rational debunking of the prejudices and myths of ethnobotany, written by one of the leading and most respected scientists in this field.""--Tinde van Andel, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Wageningen University, and Leiden University ""From ancient Greek accounts of tropical peoples as cannibalistic savages to modern tales of wise shamans, Voeks covers two thousand years of ethnobotanical history. There exists no shortage of books focusing on medicinal plants or colonial exploitation of tropical peoples, but the authors often either are poor historians or fail to cover relevant areas of botany and ethnobotany. Voeks is a serious scholar, and his knowledge of subjects as diverse as history, chemistry, and botany is both broad and deep. As such, The Ethnobotany of Eden will be an important contribution. This book is an accurate and compelling account of the non-native discovery of tropical plants and peoples from the ancient world to the modern.""--Mark J. Plotkin, PhD, President of the Amazon Conservation Team and author of ""Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice: An Ethnobotanist Searches for New Medicines in the Amazon Rain Forest"""