Lately I have been intrigued by mysteries and tales that equal part give me chills & thrillers. These stories just draw me in and leave me looking over my shoulder to figure out what just went creak or calm myself after hearing something go bump. Then along comes Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature's Toxins―From Spices to Vices
by Noah Whiteman and I find a non fiction exploration of the natural items around me that have developed p0i$0n$ to help them stay alive in a hostile world...well that sounds like a great read, doesn't it?

This book was a tour de force of chemistry, biology, coming together in a CSI-Univeristy style non fictional read. Whiteman's writing style is a dense, his academic background clearly shows through, but the journey he shares and the discoveries he highlights about the role, function, and value of p0i$0n$ in the natural world make this a read worth the time. I will say it is a heavy dense read, but one worth the investment. Throughout I was intrigued on how many of the reasons we find spices appealing to our sense of taste is the result of an evolutionary chemical adaptation by a single plant to create a unique way to avoid consumed by predators or insects. Why do I love cilantro's green flavor while My Guy says it only tastes like soap? Why does my family find strawberries sweet while I always find them sour? Why do we get a coffee rush from caffeine? Why do we crave the burn of a hot chili pepper and laugh at our puffy lips when food is too hot? It all comes down to evolution and the compounds that insects don't like, but which we find engaging and delightful. And then what about those plants that literally will end your life? If you want a way to open a conversation this Spooky Season that will have all your dinner party guests thinking you are prepping for Jeopardy or writing a Thriller or Mystery than this is the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley, LittleBrownCompany, and Noah Whiteman for this ARC that I volunteered to read

The book was interesting. However, it felt more like a memoir and less like a book about poisons. I had trouble staying interested as it slipped back and forth between the two.

I very much enjoyed this was on the science-y side about "poisons" and how it effects the human body. Whiteman shares his love of molecular biology throughout the book when highlighting poisons in nature and man- made toxins. He also shares too much of his personal life with toxins and how it effected him. I understand receptors throughout the body and how it relates to everything around us.

With the TMI from the author, I still thought this was a decent book about toxins in the environment. Still a very much recommended book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Noah Whiteman and Little, Brown and COmpany for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

Most Delicious Poison is a story of chemicals: what they are, how they work, why humanity is obsessed with eating them even though kill us in larger doses, etc.

I liked how Whiteman comprehensively covered the different chemicals he discussed - why plants developed the chemicals, why people eat them, the effects they have on the human body - all tied together in a mix of history, science, and storytelling. I only wish I had more knowledge of chemistry, as I found myself skimming the denser bits of the book.

All in all, a good title for anyone interested in botany or food science.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.

From the poisons that make our homes look prettier to the ones that help us give birth and even the ones we are addicted to and should stay away from it’s no secret that poisons or a daily part of our life and in this book Most Delicious Poisons by Noah Whiteman we learn all about them but more than just an academic tone about poisons and bareffects Wiget a book that reads like a letter to her friend with funny antidotes treasured memories and lots of interesting a fax that most people could never imagine I know I couldn’t. This book is so interesting and I learned so much from it especially about the monarch butterfly and what it has in common with preeclampsia and so much more I just love this book and really enjoyed it. Anyone who has a passing infatuation with useless information and useful will love this book. It is not your grandpa‘s books about poison. I want to think Little Brown and Company and net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

While I was reading Most Delicious Poison, I visited a herbal garden in Spain which features the plants grown by the Nasrid rulers of Granada hundreds of years ago. They cultivated myrtle for its medicinal uses and jasmine for its fragrance. How did they know of myrtle’s properties? Some ancient ancestor must have figured it out. And that ancestor might be more ancient than we realise. Noah Whiteman explains that DNA from plants found in Neanderthals’ teeth tartar suggests even they were self-medicating with herbs. We have been entangled with the chemicals around us for as long as we have been human.....

review at https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/not-everything-in-the-garden-is-lovely/

This book contains many interesting tidbits about poisons and how species have evolved to use these poisons as beneficial. However, I often found myself distracted by the author's personal tales and the disorganization of facts presented throughout the book. I believe that this book would greatly benefit from a re-structuring as it was interesting to read but all over the place in content.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown, and Company for access to this ARC!

Oh my gosh. Give me more of this!
I loved learning about the human pursuit of poisons. I will be buying this one in hardback.
The timing for this couldn't be better. I am researching Opium Dens in my city's history.

Overall I enjoyed the book. I liked the messages and the illustrations (kudos to Julie Johnson). I also found that Whiteman did a great job of saying what is a hypothesis and what is speculation. I also liked that Whitemen did not oversell. But I found that the book got off to a slow start and there was too much personal information. Overall, though, this book is well worth reading. Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Spark for the digital review copy.

A look into nature’s poisons. This had a lot of science behind it, which I found a different take than other similar books! I do think it could’ve been organized in a better way, but an overall interesting read.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book uncovers the potent secrets hidden within everyday plants and spices. Learn why plants and fungi produce these enigmatic chemicals and how this covert chemical warfare drives the evolution of life on Earth.

I have to admit, I chose this book because I was intrigued by the cover and title. I didn't expect to love the book as much as I did. It's fascinating to learn how plants and fungi use different families of compounds for self-protection—and how humans select them for their flavor, medicinal value, or psychotropic effects. Easy to read, the book is entertaining, informative, and compassionate.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I was completely drawn into the topic of poison and could not stop reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Most Delicious Poison.

I think poison is on everyone's minds lately. Lately, I seem to be reading a lot of nonfiction with poison in the title.

I just finished The League of Lady Poisoners, which was great.

The author behind Most Delicious Poison reveals the origins of toxins produced by plants and some animals, defense mechanisms to protect themselves and how we've come to use these toxins, for good and for bad.

I liked the author's personal connection to this particular topic; his father was a naturalist who eventually succumbed to the lure of certain toxins and this piqued Mr. Whiteman's interest in the field of poison.

This was well written, well researched with a scholarly tone with good anecdotes, but more science-y than I was prepared for.

You'll learn a lot (I sure did) but it wasn't something I could read in one sitting. I put it down to read something else, and then came back to finish a chapter before putting it down to read something more fun.

I don't tend to read nonfiction unless the topic interests me and Most Delicious Poison did.

This is such a deep dive of a book that it took me quite a while to get through it. Whiteman mixes science, history and storytelling to give us a complex picture of the substances in nature and how they can be used and cause harm. Perfect for science and nature lovers who love a good story.