Guarana

"A deeply researched narrative that illuminates so much more than one seems to see at first glance. . . . Garfield situates guarana within a series of different systems of knowledge and culture over a period that stretches from the earliest moments of colonization of the Amazon to the present. "--H-LatAm "A luminous social biography of a single Amazonian fruit. Historian Seth Garfield reinvigorates the abiding relevance of the history of commodities as an entry point into Latin American history. . . . Elegantly written and immensely interdisciplinary."--Not Even Past "A powerful, evocative book, a work of deep scholarship . . . It offers an understanding of how a native plant is connected to so much else."--Journal of Latin American Geography "Seth Garfield's Guarana is well written and finely researched, and its bibliography is a treasure trove of little-known historical material. I thoroughly recommend this book to the readers."--Economic Botany "Seth Garfield's book fills a gap in the historiography by providing the first thorough study on the history of guarana. . . . [This is a] complex, well-connected, superb book, which will be of interest to a variety of scholars from various disciplines including those who are non-Brazilianists."--The Americas "This is an impressive scholarly achievement and a significant contribution to the historiography. . . . The book is at turns cultural history, agricultural history, environmental history, and history of science; each new analytical lens is elaborated in detail and carefully contextualized."--H-Environment