Endangered Maize

“Maize diversity is threatened by many factors, as science historian Helen Curry expertly discusses with specialists.” * Nature *“What Curry analyzes through deft and accessible writing is not so much the danger maize faces, but the ways we understand it, and the narratives we use to tell its stories, which shape conservation efforts.” * Civil Eats *

“Curry has written a brilliant history that shows us how the narrative of crop diversity loss is itself jam-packed with troubling worldviews… .Endangered Maize is an enormously useful book, and one that will shape conversations about agricultural and human diversity for many years to come.”

* Metascience *“An excellent, captivating description of the origins, ideas, and motivations behind the narratives of maize as an endangered genetic resource and how these narratives have shaped the methods and tools of conservation adopted by scientists and states… . As a historian, Curry skillfully recounts the origins and evolution of narratives of extinction of indigenous​ ​landraces and conservation strategies, highlighting the complexity of preservation initiatives and the multiple actors​ ​involved and suggesting pathways for the future. A key merit of her account is a sound understanding of underlying​ ​aspects of the biology and genetics of maize and its conservation.​”” * Journal of Agrarian Change *“Curry’s…whole history of seed-seeking overturns its own motivations and puts people first.” * Technology and Culture *“A thought-provoking book that combines excellent research with lucid writing.” * Isis *“Endangered Maize… is a provocative contribution to analysis of the endangerment sensibility that continues to shape our responses to the very real threats our planet faces.” * American Historical Review *“Endangered Maize is a superb study of science in society. Helen Anne Curry’s analysis of the dialectics of maize breeding and conservation in Mexico and the United States through the twentieth century serves to unfold a much broader intellectual and political history, illustrating how contrasting concepts of sustainability and the epistemologies that underpin them have shaped the distribution of power in the modern geopolitical order.” * Agricultural History Review *