Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the WorldRead Dan Koeppel's posts on the Penguin Blog. A gripping biological detective story that uncovers the myth, mystery, and endangered fate of the world's most humble fruit To most people, a banana is a banana: a simple yellow fruit. Americans eat more bananas than apples and oranges combined. In others parts of the world, bananas are what keep millions of people alive. But for all its ubiquity, the banana is surprisingly mysterious; nobody knows how bananas evolved or exactly where they originated. Rich cultural lore surrounds the fruit: In ancient translations of the Bible, the “apple” consumed by Eve is actually a banana (it makes sense, doesn't it?). Entire Central American nations have been said to rise and fall over the banana. But the biggest mystery about the banana today is whether it will survive. A seedless fruit with a unique reproductive system, every banana is a genetic duplicate of the next, and therefore susceptible to the same blights. Today's yellow banana, the Cavendish, is increasingly threatened by such a blight—and there's no cure in sight. Banana combines a pop-science journey around the globe, a fascinating tale of an iconic American business enterprise, and a look into the alternately tragic and hilarious banana subculture (one does exist)— ultimately taking us to the high-tech labs where new bananas are literally being built in test tubes, in a race to save the world's most beloved fruit. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - Christina_E_Mitchell - LibraryThingI walked into the front doors of my local library, and there was this book. It was one of the featured books on some library summer theme. I couldn't resist picking it up. I had completed my doctoral ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Stembie3 - LibraryThingThe book is well researched and well written. It was a little long for me, but I prefer fiction to non-fiction. I read the book because I'd read a good review of it. Read full review
Contents
Brand Name Bananas | 116 |
Guatemala | 119 |
Goodbye Michel | 133 |
Cavendish | 135 |
Falling Apart | 142 |
Embracing the New | 148 |
Chronic Injury | 152 |
Banana Plus Banana | 157 |
| 63 | |
| 71 | |
| 77 | |
| 80 | |
The Banana Massacre | 84 |
The Inhuman Republics | 90 |
Straightening Out the Business | 93 |
Never Enough | 97 |
Knowledge Is Powerless | 99 |
Pure Science | 103 |
A Second Front | 106 |
No Respite | 111 |
A Savior? | 166 |
A New Banana | 189 |
A Long Way from Panama 185 | 194 |
A Banana Crossroads | 201 |
Frankenbanana | 211 |
Still the Octopus? | 218 |
The Way Out | 228 |
A Banana Time Line | 243 |
Bibliography | 261 |
Acknowledgments | 265 |
Index | 269 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World |
| Author | Dan Koeppel |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Penguin, 2008 |
| ISBN | 1594630380, 9781594630385 |
| Length | 281 pages |
| Subjects | › › Business & Economics / Economic History Business & Economics / Industries / Agribusiness History / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |