Publisher Description
Tasty, lethal, hallucinogenic, and medicinal—fruits have led nations into wars, fueled dictatorships, and even lured us into new worlds. Adam Leith Gollner weaves business, science, and travel into a riveting narrative about one of earth’s most desired foods.
Listeners will discover why it is that although countless exotic fruits exist in nature, only several dozen varieties are available in supermarkets. Gollner explores the political machinations of multinational fruit corporations, exposing the hidden alliances between agribusiness and government and what that means for public health. He traces
the life of mass-produced fruits—how they are created, grown, and marketed—and he explores the underworld of fruits that are inaccessible, ignored, and even forbidden in the Western world.
Gollner draws readers into a Willy Wonka–like world with mangoes that taste like piña coladas, orange cloudberries, peanut butter fruits, and the miracle fruit that turns everything sour sweet, making lemons taste like lemonade. Peopled with a varied and bizarre cast of characters—from smugglers to explorers to inventors—this extraordinary book unveils the hidden universe of fruit.
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“There are some great passages in here, ones that are definitely worth reading. As a whole, the thing doesn’t really follow much of a structure, instead seeming to plop into little notes or narratives as they come together. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering the seeming unfocused focus of the crazies that Gollner meets with throughout his travels. More than anything, this read like a list of fruits that you should try accompanied by some wacky characters. I have no basis for discussing the science or whether any of it was valid, but it certainly was a fun, interesting read. I wish that his discussion of the way that fruits do come to us in our markets was more fully fleshed out, rather than remaining a side note to the tropicalia. I’d also have liked more adventure-y style writing, as the chapter on tracking down miracle fruit was very well written and very interesting.”
—
Adam (4 out of 5 stars)
