Harvest : the hidden histories of seven natural objects
Posnett, Edward2019
Books, Manuscripts
In 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.
Main title:
Harvest : the hidden histories of seven natural objects / Edward Posnett.
Author:
Posnett, Edward, author
Imprint:
London : The Bodley Head, 2019.
Collation:
323 pages ; 23 cm
Notes:
Originally published: as Strange harvests. New York: Viking.Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9781847923875 (hbk)
Dewey class:
338.47508
LC class:
QH61
Local class:
338.47
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
BRN:
2509994