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Title: Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
ISBN: 1594630380
Author:
Dan Koeppel
Publicate Date: 2007-12-27
Publish: 2007-12-27
List Price: $23.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.49
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $5.65
Amazon Merchant Price: $16.29
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A Rambling, Poorly Written Novel
Like many others here, I purchased this book because of its exposure on Public Radio. Based on what I'd heard I was hoping for an informative and engaging book. Sadly, I was disappointed on both counts. This is a rambling history of the banana intermixed with very poorly described science. I'm sure there is a fascinating story to be told about the sordid history of United Fruit and the future of the banana. This isn't it.
The author relies heavily on ridiculous hyperbole (The banana is nearly extinct; Oh I mean it may face extinction in 5, 10, or 20 years; Oh I mean there are a number of maladies that affect the most popular variety of banana). These short hyperbolic sections are padded out by long, poorly written chapters tracing the history of the banana and focus primarily on the misdeeds of United Fruit. There is just not enough compelling history nor enough detailed science to make a novel here. I don't know how this made it past an editor (it could lose 100 pages easily), but in any case this book is not worth your time.
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2: Mangu de Platano
I am deeply grateful to Koeppel for the tribute he paid to Phil Rowe, the United Brands banana/plantain breeder in Honduras who died in 2001. Koeppel never met him but obviously captured a strong sense of who Phil was and his important contribution to world food security. I met Phil Rowe in 1981 in Tela Honduras and spent the day enthralled listening and learning about challenges to the World banana/plantain crop and Phil's efforts to overcome the challenges to successful banana/plantain breeding.
Koeppel's book emphasizes dessert banana issues. However, the World primarily relies on bananas and plantains as a vegetable crop. In the Dominican Republic they eat cooked green plantains 3 times a day and prefer it to potatoes. Next time you are in New York stop by a Dominican restaraunt and try mangu de platano for breakfast or fresh tostones hot off of the skillet. For those of you that have lived or visited Panama or Colombia, tostones are called patacones.
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3: Bananarama! The Forbidden and Forgotten Fruit of the Loom.
Out of all the fruits grown in the world,the banana gets little respect.Yet,the banana is perhaps the single most important fruit ever cultivated on our good Earth.Dan Koeppel writes a very interesting historical and cultural book about the seriousness of the banana politics.Countless comics have slipped on a banana peel and heaved a banana cream pie on another.We use phrases like ,'second banana' and 'banana republic';to deride or comically mock a puppet leader or puppet government.Still ,banananomics is serious business and directly affects the global food markets. The author brings to light the true economic and geopolitical impact the banana fruit has had and currently has ,on the world today.The loss of this fruit will have catastrophic reverberations,both socially and monitarily,around the globe.The plight of this fruity staple,the Cavendish banana, may be irreversible and doomed to extinction,like the elder Gros Michel banana.This is an excellent book that brings awareness of the looming fate for the tropical Cavendish banana.Yes,we have no bananas? Maybe not.Scientists are racing for a solution to the fungus disease,that is decimating banana production,every year.It's hard to imagine a world without bananas.And even harder to fathom a world dealing with its loss from everyone's shopping cart.This book will change the way you view bananas.And will make you give some respect to the 'second banana' ,in your cornucopia basket.
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4: who knew?
awesome book. who knew how important bananas were to the WORLD?? Fascinating story with important questions for the future of hungry people around the world. I'll never think of bananas as a simple food again. The banana has global impact. Great read.
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5: Very informative
A bit America-centric for European readers but nonetheless great to have all this info in one place.
Buy fair trade organic every time.
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