- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books (Jan 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 044900371X
- ISBN-13: 978-0449003718
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 678,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Orchidelirium is the name the Victorians gave to the flower madness that is for botanical collectors the equivalent of gold fever. Wealthy orchid fanatics of that era sent explorers (heavily armed, more to protect themselves against other orchid seekers than against hostile natives or wild animals) to unmapped territories in search of new varieties of Cattleya and Paphiopedilum. As knowledge of the family Orchidaceae grew to encompass the currently more than 60,000 species and over 100,000 hybrids, orchidelirium might have been expected to go the way of Dutch tulip mania. Yet, as journalist Susan Orlean found out, there still exists a vein of orchid madness strong enough to inspire larceny among collectors.
The Orchid Thief centres on south Florida and John Laroche, a quixotic, charismatic schemer once convicted of attempting to take endangered orchids from the Fakahatchee swamp, a state preserve. Laroche, a horticultural consultant who once ran an extensive nursery for the Seminole tribe, dreams of making a fortune for the Seminoles and himself by cloning the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii. Laroche sums up the obsession that drives him and so many others:
I really have to watch myself, especially around plants. Even now, just being here, I still get that collector feeling. You know what I mean. I'll see something and then suddenly I get that feeling. It's like I can't just have something--I have to have it and learn about it and grow it and sell it and master it and have a million of it.Even Orlean--so leery of orchid fever that she immediately gives away any plant that's pressed upon her by the growers in Laroche's circle--develops a desire to see a ghost orchid blooming and makes several ultimately unsuccessful treks into the Fakahatchee. Filled with Palm Beach socialites, Native Americans, English peers, smugglers and naturalists as improbably colourful as the tropical blossoms that inspire them, this is a lyrical, funny, addictively entertaining read. -- Barrie Trinkle, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession.
From Florida’s swamps to its courtrooms, the New Yorker writer follows one deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man’s possibly criminal pursuit of an endangered flower. Determined to clone the rare ghost orchid, Polyrrhiza lindenii, John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, along with the Seminole Indians who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean–and the reader–will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion.
Praise for The Orchid Thief:
“Fascinating . . . tales of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing . . . an engrossing journey.”
–Los Angeles Times
“Irresistible . . . a brilliantly reported account of an illicit scheme to housebreak Florida’s wild and endangered ghost orchid . . . Its central figure is John Laroche, the ‘oddball ultimate’ of a subculture whose members are so enthralled by orchids they ‘pursue them like lovers.’ ”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Artful . . . in Ms. Orlean’s skillful handling, her orchid story turns out to be distinctly ‘something more.’ . . . [Her] portrait of her sometimes sad-making orchid thief allows the reader to discover acres of opportunity where intriguing things can be found.”
–The New York Times
“Zestful . . . a swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”
–The Wall Street Journal
“Deliciously weird . . . compelling.”
–Detroit Free Press
A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession.
From Florida’s swamps to its courtrooms, the New Yorker writer follows one deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man’s possibly criminal pursuit of an endangered flower. Determined to clone the rare ghost orchid, Polyrrhiza lindenii, John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, along with the Seminole Indians who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean–and the reader–will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion.
Praise for The Orchid Thief:
“Fascinating . . . tales of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing . . . an engrossing journey.”
–Los Angeles Times
“Irresistible . . . a brilliantly reported account of an illicit scheme to housebreak Florida’s wild and endangered ghost orchid . . . Its central figure is John Laroche, the ‘oddball ultimate’ of a subculture whose members are so enthralled by orchids they ‘pursue them like lovers.’ ”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Artful . . . in Ms. Orlean’s skillful handling, her orchid story turns out to be distinctly ‘something more.’ . . . [Her] portrait of her sometimes sad-making orchid thief allows the reader to discover acres of opportunity where intriguing things can be found.”
–The New York Times
“Zestful . . . a swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”
–The Wall Street Journal
“Deliciously weird . . . compelling.”
–Detroit Free Press
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very funny and surprisingly readable,
By
This review is from: The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (Paperback)
Essentially a portrait of John Larouche, orchid hunter and thief extraordinaire, as well as (surprisingly) supporting the conservation movement, this laconically humorous tale takes us into the depths of the Everglades, the forests of the Far East and the hot-houses of the rich, famous and crooked.There are some strange asides, that illustrate the type of enigmatic person who goes in for the underworld orchid trade; tales of frog poachers, happy in their slimy occupation; capsicum and bromeliad growers who dump the whole crop in a fit of pique; collectors who also spray-paint pigeons' tails. In all, this reads more like a novel than an investigation into the illegal orchid trade, but loses no credibility for that, rather, it lends a more accessible quality to the book than it would otherwise have.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only read this if you can afford to buy an orchid afterwards,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (Paperback)
If you like plants then I think you will like this book..... Why the uncertainty? ..... I am a self confessed plant-nut and thought the book was great ..... but maybe the less botanically minded might be less keen? The author, a journalist by profession, takes you straight to Florida! You are there with her ..... whether wading waist-deep in the dark and dank Everglades or, freshly showered, visiting an over-blown floral show in suburban Miami. From greenhouse to alligator wrestling, from courthouse to swamp you accompany the author as she tries to understand the book's central character - a compulsive orchid collector. I have read it twice and I know I will return to it. I hope you enjoy it too! (P.S. It makes an excellent companion read to "Orchid Fever" by Eric Hansen) And don't say I didn't warn you when you find yourself buying an orchid ..... or two ..... or three .....
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute must read!!!,
By
This review is from: The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (Paperback)
I decided to read this book after watching the film "Adaptation" on DVD and I am very glad I did. Orlean reports on a world of deception and obsession whilst shadowing one of Americas' most notorious Orchid collectors. Written in what is very much a reportage style this book I believe has widespread appeal and is well worth checking out.
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