This really two books in one, both required reading on the subject of crop diversity and its importance to food security. The first is the incredible biography of N. I. Vavilov, the Stalin-era Russian plant scientist who traveled five continents studying crop diversity and collecting seeds for the first modern seed bank. The second is Nabhan's retracing of some of Vavilov's travels and commenting how the changes he is seeing illustrate how climate change, economics, and genetic engineering are affecting the world's food supplies.

Nabhan is a scientist as well as a great storyteller and travel writer, telling a fascinating tale that matters. ( )