In The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan does for corn what Rachel Carson did for DDT in Silent Spring ; that is to say, he totally demonizes it. After you read this book, the words "corn-fed" will sound more like a barnyard epithet than an evocation of rustic wholesomeness.

Just one question for all you intelligent design advocates; what brainiac gave us the mosquito?

OK, so it’s kind of funny that I, the food editor, am being eaten alive by a mosquito. But I’m not laughing; I’m about to collapse from exhaustion after nearly a week of being woken up every night by the telltale buzz of this voracious little vampire who’s left bites all over my body, undeterred by Eau de Deet (that’s how desperate I am to get some sleep.)

Once awakened, I scratch my arms in a sleepy stupor and wonder how one little creature could cause so much havoc. Also, it’s December; why hasn’t the cold weather killed all the mosquitoes by now?