Botony of Desire

Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
Pollan traces the history of potatoes, marijuana, tulips and apples to make some insightful points and fascinating reading about ecology, economics, botany, and nature. This one small book will give you a grip on science that many semester courses fail to impart. There is also quite a bit of macro-economics in this little gem.

Pollan doesn't get mystical about it, but he does make a convincing case for the self determinism of plants. When a scientist sees life on a continuum, science leaps forward unhindered by ancient, useless dogma.