Garlic and Other Alliums

The Lore and the Science
by Eric Block

This unique book, with a foreword by 1990 Nobel Laureate E.J. Corey, outlines the extensive history and the fascinating past and present uses of garlic and other alliums, sorting out fact from fiction based upon detailed scrutiny of historic documents as well as numerous laboratories studies. Readers will be entertained and educated as they learn about early cultivation of garlic and other alliums while being introduced to the chemistry and biochemistry of the plant. They will learn how alliums have been portrayed and used in literature, poetry, and the arts. Technical material is presented in a manner understandable to a general audience, particularly through the use of illustrations that simplify more difficult concepts and explain how experimental work is conducted. The book is heavily illustrated with examples of alliums in art, literature, agriculture, medicine and other areas and includes rare botanical drawings of many members of the genus Allium.