Books by Robert Spengler
Nature’s Greatest Success:
How Plants Evolved to Exploit Humanity
In Nature’s Greatest Success, Spengler picks up where Fruit from the Sands left off by unraveling the long, intertwined history of people and the flora and fauna that sustain them.
What people are saying:
"A compelling case for decoupling domestication from the yoke of human dominance and intentionality and instead understanding it as a pervasive and ages-old coevolutionary process. Spengler integrates and updates archaeological and biological data and theory more successfully and comprehensively than anyone I have seen. Scholars reluctant to relinquish human agency as the force driving domestication may be persuaded that multispecies, mutualistic relationships at the core of modern agriculture were not only 'natural' as opposed to 'cultural' but arguably inevitable."—Gayle J. Fritz, Professor Emerita of Archaeology, Washington University in St. Louis
"This book marks a step change in our understanding of animal and plant domestication. Spengler's proposal of 'ecological release' as a universal driver of the domestication process is particularly exciting."—Glynis Jones, Fellow of the British Academy and Emeritus Professor of Archaeology, University of Sheffield
Nature’s Greatest Success is in publication with the University of California Press.
Fruit from the Sands:
The Silk Road Origins of the Foods We Eat
Fruit from the Sands takes readers on a culinary journey along the ancient trade routes of Eurasia and describes how the Silk Road directly shaped the foods we eat today.
This book received praise from academic and popular sources:
Science News voted Fruit from the Sands a favorite science book of 2019. It also won a Gourmand International Award for culinary writing in 2020.
“Spengler tells a fascinating tale of a culinary past that is just beginning to come into focus…[his] book provides lots of food for thought.” —Science News
“Fruit from the Sands is an excellent example of a comprehensive and entertaining historical and botanical review, providing an enjoyable and cognitive read for scientists, the general public, students, and policymakers.” —Nature
"Fruits from the Sands is NOT a book you sit down and read in one sitting(!) But, it IS a book that you are likely to turn to again and again for that extra bit of insight into the story behind the food on your plate, which is the true test of great plants-and-people storytelling." – Botany One
Fruit from the Sands is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and Chinese editions.
What People Are Saying