Review by Choice Review
More than a social history of the scientific and commercial aspects of plant improvement, this book is an in-depth analysis of the interaction of scientific advances with three themes of political economy: the progressive conversion of the seed to a commodity; the restructuring of the social division of labor between public and private plant breeding; and the asymmetries of germ plasm transfer between less developed countries of the Third World and the more advanced industrial nations. An understanding of the historical developments in plant improvement could assist in predicting and analyzing the trends and the outcomes from the new plant biotechnology, making this book an important commentary--it should be placed on the reading lists of students of agronomy, agribusiness, and plant biotechnology. Kloppenburg amply documents his interpretations with quotes and references from experts in agriculture as well as the reports, yearbooks, and proceedings of agricultural organizations both in the public and private sectors. This book will be difficult reading for students not versed in political economy. -C. S. Dunn, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
