{"product_id":"most-delicious-poison","title":"Most Delicious Poison by Noah Whiteman","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Story of Nature's Toxins – from Spices to Vices\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn evolutionary biologist tells the story of nature’s toxins and why we are attracted—and addicted—to them, in this “magisterial, fascinating, and gripping tour de force” (Neil Shubin).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA deadly secret lurks within our spice racks, medicine cabinets, backyard gardens, and private stashes. Scratch beneath the surface of a coffee bean, a red pepper flake, a poppy seed, a mold spore, a foxglove leaf, or an apple seed, and we find a bevy of strange chemicals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe use these to greet our days (caffeine), titillate our tongues (capsaicin), recover from surgery (opioids), cure infections (penicillin), mend our hearts (digoxin), and even kill our enemies (cyanide).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut why do plants and fungi produce such chemicals? And how did we come to use and abuse some of them? Based on cutting-edge science in the fields of evolution, chemistry, and neuroscience, Most Delicious Poison reveals:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• The origins of toxins produced by plants, mushrooms, microbes, and even some animals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• The mechanisms that animals evolved to overcome them\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• How a co-evolutionary arms race made its way into the human experience\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• And much more\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis perpetual chemical war not only drove the diversification of life on Earth, but also is intimately tied to our own successes and failures. You will never look at a houseplant, mushroom, fruit, vegetable, or even the past five hundred years of human history the same way again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback: \u003c\/strong\u003e296 pages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions: \u003c\/strong\u003e5.5\" x 8.25\" x 0.8\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Hachette Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50449188028655,"sku":"9780316386678","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0082\/1248\/0055\/files\/ce16c4371d3d57cafe67cbac8114e18a27b06fda48620ff7bc3ac272b20cef99.jpg?v=1786209343","url":"https:\/\/www.mimosaspirit.com\/products\/most-delicious-poison","provider":"Mimosa Books \u0026 Gifts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}