Originally published in 1926, this book describes the varieties of potato prevalent in the UK in the early twentieth century. Salaman also examines the environmental and genetic forces 'which control the production of these varieties, their behaviour and their ultimate destiny'. Several plates illustrating points of variety, such as leaves and flowers, are also provided. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of the potato in the UK.

Sharing his 'overwhelming enthusiasm for the humble spud' and a lifetime's experience in the seed potato industry, Alan Romans combines an engaging account of potato growing with an expert guide to potato varieties. The Potato Book traces the history of the potato from its beginnings in South America to the development of variety breeding. It explains all aspects of growing, from choosing seed potatoes, planting and maintenance, to harvest, storage, and pests and diseases. An exhaustive and definitive guide to over 150 varieties currently available in Europe provides scientifically based assessments of yield, characteristics, disease resistance. With descriptions too of varieties - mainly 'heritage' (pre-1950) - that have recently become available as microplants, it contains everything the potato grower needs to know.

The potato--humble, lumpy, bland, familiar--is a decidedly unglamorous staple of the dinner table. Or is it? John Reader's narrative on the role of the potato in world history suggests we may be underestimating this remarkable tuber. From domestication in Peru 8,000 years ago to its status today as the world's fourth largest food crop, the potato has played a starring--or at least supporting--role in many chapters of human history. In this witty and engaging book, Reader opens our eyes to the power of the potato. Whether embraced as the solution to hunger or wielded as a weapon of exploitation, blamed for famine and death or recognized for spurring progress, the potato has often changed the course of human events. Reader focuses on sixteenth-century South America, where the indigenous potato enabled Spanish conquerors to feed thousands of conscripted native people; eighteenth-century Europe, where the nutrition-packed potato brought about a population explosion; and today's global world, where the potato is an essential food source but also the world's most chemically-dependent crop. Where potatoes have been adopted as a staple food, social change has always followed. It may be "just" a humble vegetable, John Reader shows, yet the history of the potato has been anything but dull.

The book is based on the proceedings of a joint meeting of EAPR and EUCARPIA at King's College, Cambridge, December 1985.