<![CDATA[Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World]]>

false <![CDATA[Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World]]> 1260005 2 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. 1248844 27 12 2007 Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World total:308|5:49|4:123|3:116|2:17|1:3| 308 1122 746 134 2 1 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Aug 21 07:52:20 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 04 21:37:28 -0800 2009 Why on earth am I reading this? I generally manage to avoid this feeling by choosing my reading material wisely, but this one managed to slip through somehow.

Bananas. Do I care? Sort of.

I found about half of this ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 22:02:06 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 22:02:06 -0800 2009
This book covers the history -- and future! -- of the humble banana. It starts with its beginnings in Asia, its geographic and evolutionary progressing, and the arrival of the banana to America.

Bananas are incredib...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 13 08:37:15 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 13 08:40:48 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 13:47:13 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 13:47:13 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 01 10:25:47 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 08:01:09 -0800 2009 Well-written - 5
Must Read - 3
Important - 3
Accessible - 5

Through this very interesting story of the banana, one learns also of revolutions, arguments for genetic engineering and, of course, fascinating details of the banana. The timeline at th...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 16:22:07 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 16:30:38 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed May 14 17:52:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 10 02:30:09 -0700 2008
Great gift for the bananaphile in you life.]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 16:40:29 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 08:01:15 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Apr 03 10:55:44 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 03 11:08:05 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Mon Aug 11 07:26:18 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 30 07:37:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 20 08:53:38 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 07:57:27 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 20 08:53:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jul 06 10:41:22 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 06 10:41:22 -0700 2008
Actually, I found it fascinating. OK, the most obvious: the banana split was invented in 1904 by David Strickler in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He was what we used to call a 'soda jerk.'

The real substance of the book, however, lies in two s...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 15:11:23 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 08 15:12:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 07 05:52:33 -0800 2008 Thu Jun 11 05:21:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 05 13:55:54 -0800 2008 Sun Oct 18 19:39:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 10 14:26:33 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 14:26:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 04 19:41:10 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 04 19:49:02 -0800 2009
Koeppel covers all aspects: biology (bananas are actually an herb, more closely related to vanilla than to an apple), sociology (Chiquita used to fund rebels to overthrow South American nations), politics (ev...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Dec 12 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 18:59:40 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 18:55:38 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 14 08:15:51 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 16:17:05 -0700 2008
How can a tropical fruit that is highly perishable consistently cost half as much as apples, which are local and can keep well in storage? The answer lies in the abuses of the bana...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat May 09 06:29:20 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 06:35:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1260005