Great book. There was the scientific, evolutionary aspect of the banana and then the socio- political one. All are related in say to understand terms and the whole reads like a novel. A story well told. Hope some political decision makers read it ( )

Interesting reading. However, the book has many faults. First, it's too long. How many times does the author have to repeat the same facts? And the history is confusing as the author bounces back and forth from country to county and year to year. The author also leaves the reader clueless as to many questions. What's the likelihood that the banana (as we know it) will disappear, change, etc. He just presents all the options as possibilities and we are left trying to puzzle out the likelihoods ourselves.

I loved the subject matter but didn't really love how the writer approached it. Still, I was able to pick up some interesting information about this familiar fruit. Also, I was a little bothered about how it seems the book considers Genesis to be part of History, even including it in the timeline at the end...Weird. And for the record: Brazilian bananas are the best ;) ( )

Everything you need to know about bananas and how they influenced world politics. Very interesting. ( )

I 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 thesis on Guatemala, a country considered to be one of the Central American Banana Republics, and was well aware of United Fruit's horrendous involvement, with U.S. government complicity and support, in Guatemala's insurrection, war, genocide, and corruption. United Fruit is now Chiquita and, for the most part, it is a vastly more ethical conglomerate than it was before. Still, it's known underhandedness in establishing relationships with brutal rebels and dictators continued into the late 1990s. (I remain skeptical that the underhandedness has abated.) Building from Bitter fruit: The story of the American coup in Guatemala (Schlesinger, Kinder, & Coatsworth, 2005), Banana more greatly details how American preference for the popular, cheap fruit is responsible for lots of poverty and death that Americans easily dismiss for the convenience of having the fruit in our markets. It is not lost on me that the fruit is now a staple in convenience stores selling for around $.78 per banana (!!) when a whole pound of bananas costs about as much. I can guarantee 7-11 does not share that huge profit margin with the Central American growers. As Koeppel concludes, unless we can tear ourselves away from convenience in support of locally grown and seasonal produce, Banana Republics will continue to exist.

I also had a less moral, more personal reason for picking up the book. My Grandson adores the fruit. He is a very picky eater though he will eat almost any fruit you put in front of him. Bananas are his favorite fruit and, at only 1.5 years old, will easily eat three bananas for breakfast unless we intervene to fight an egg or cereal into his mouth. Bananas were actually a prominent theme of our recent Hawaiian vacation. Our family visited the Dole plantation and pointed out the banana trees much to his delight. At another plantation we ate a delicious banana-apple variety that he found absolutely scrumptious. We even tried to buy a bunch still on the stalk so Grandson could pick them himself (we never located one). Finding Banana filled in the gaps between plantation and state-side supermarket. It was interesting for me to learn how bananas are grown and how fighting plant infections are extremely difficult. I am now my Grandson's personal banana expert.

Don't expect a great, personal revelation or resolution about the apparent conflict between Banana Republics and my Grandson's tummy. I don't have one. I am certain my Grandson would be fine enjoying local produce if bananas disappeared from our groceries. But, it is hard not to buy them when he reaches for them from his perch in the shopping cart. At the moment, I hope as consumers we can insist our businesses act more morally and ethically even while I understand with that hope I am slipping on a proverbial banana peel. With that hope I am essentially passing the buck directly into the pockets of Chiquita and Dole. ( )

An interesting book, with an odd conclusion. A lot of info about bananas, both the growing of them and the selling of them, and how the business of selling bananas has affected events on the political and physical levels. The diseases of bananas have reshaped the politics of much of Latin America. The author does seem to be fascinated by weird deaths - suicide and murder are lovingly described, in extreme detail in some cases, and referred to over and over. The aspect that he deals with most, though, is that commercial bananas are basically a monoculture, and as such are very vulnerable to various diseases. The obvious solution is to breed different bananas, that are resistant to the diseases that are devastating the current variety (there's really only one, at least in the US and most of Europe). But bananas are difficult to breed, because they're basically sterile - seedless. So he concludes that the actual solution is not to _breed_ a better banana, but to _create_ one - using direct genetic manipulation, and genes from other organisms. So the last couple chapters are mostly about how people are afraid of GMO crops and why they shouldn't be because bananas are so important (not so much the commercial ones, but the many varieties that are the basic food for a lot of people who don't have much other food) and besides they're sterile and besides... He gets a bit ranty, in those last chapters. I learned a lot about bananas, and more about US (companies, and government) interference in other countries because of bananas. It was interesting, though he didn't quite convince me (for one thing, bananas don't make seeds, but (according to what he said earlier) they do make pollen - so yes, GMO bananas could cross out to other varieties. One lie I caught makes me wonder what I didn't catch...). Still, very interesting, and I learned a lot. I wish I could taste a Gros Michel... ( )

The 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. ( )

I loved looking at history through banana-colored lenses. Dan Koeppel did a really nice work here. He did a lot of research, went around the world to interview experts, and managed to write a book that focuses on the history and science of the banana. The book kept my interest quite high from beginning to end. The structure / organization is not linear at all, it would be best visualized with a firework explosion, but in a sense it works even better this way: it's like sitting down in a pub with one of the top experts on bananas, getting him completely drunk, and listening to him rant away. The result is a "narrative" that jumps around, gets distracted, goes back, has sudden moments of humor and unexpectedly moving paragraphs, but it all kind of fits together nicely. I really liked it that way. Despite the large amount of facts and trivia, the book is a light read.

The author tried to infuse this work with an overarching drama, which is "a banana blight that is tearing through banana crops worldwide". This is a fact, however there seem to be some solutions in place, and at least several alternatives. In any case, some chapters end with sentences like "this is why the banana you eat today might be the last of its kind you eat. Ever!". Hilarious! But please, go on! Bring us another one of whatever this guy is drinking!!

Koeppel spent many chapters on the history of United Fruit, the modern Chiquita. I knew it was a history of violent colonialism, but I didn't know to what extent. The history of the "banana republics" of Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, etc. is fascinating, dark and disturbing. Guatemala in particular, with the CIA-orchestrated conspiracy / coup that was very much related to United Fruit and bananas.

One minor flaw: the focus seems to be almost entirely on American bananas and their history, only a little bit on South-East Asia, and almost nothing on Africa. The book would have been more complete if it expanded a bit more on Africa and what the fruit meant for African history, too.

In the end, the author recommends us to buy fair trade bananas, to help plantation workers, and he gives us a bit more background, without pushing that agenda too much. ( )

I loved looking at history through banana-colored lenses. Dan Koeppel did a really nice work here. He did a lot of research, went around the world to interview experts, and managed to write a book that focuses on the history and science of the banana. The book kept my interest quite high from beginning to end. The structure / organization is not linear at all, it would be best visualized with a firework explosion, but in a sense it works even better this way: it's like sitting down in a pub with one of the top experts on bananas, getting him completely drunk, and listening to him rant away. The result is a "narrative" that jumps around, gets distracted, goes back, has sudden moments of humor and unexpectedly moving paragraphs, but it all kind of fits together nicely. I really liked it that way. Despite the large amount of facts and trivia, the book is a light read.

The author tried to infuse this work with an overarching drama, which is "a banana blight that is tearing through banana crops worldwide". This is a fact, however there seem to be some solutions in place, and at least several alternatives. In any case, some chapters end with sentences like "this is why the banana you eat today might be the last of its kind you eat. Ever!". Hilarious! But please, go on! Bring us another one of whatever this guy is drinking!!

Koeppel spent many chapters on the history of United Fruit, the modern Chiquita. I knew it was a history of violent colonialism, but I didn't know to what extent. The history of the "banana republics" of Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, etc. is fascinating, dark and disturbing. Guatemala in particular, with the CIA-orchestrated conspiracy / coup that was very much related to United Fruit and bananas.

One minor flaw: the focus seems to be almost entirely on American bananas and their history, only a little bit on South-East Asia, and almost nothing on Africa. The book would have been more complete if it expanded a bit more on Africa and what the fruit meant for African history, too.

In the end, the author recommends us to buy fair trade bananas, to help plantation workers, and he gives us a bit more background, without pushing that agenda too much. ( )

Much better written than Chapman's [b:Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World|6025515|Bananas How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World|Peter Chapman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266464002s/6025515.jpg|2107477]. The story includes the same indictments as Chapman's, but is better-told, though sometimes in less depth. There is more about bananas here, and less about governments. Read both to consolidate your knowledge. ( )

I picked this book because I wanted to know more about the role the banana-companies played in the political history of Central America. But apart from learning more about this topic, I also learned many unexpected facts about the history of the banana, the way it has spread over the world, about its biology, about plant-diseases and their "cures".
This may sound boring, but the book is written in a very accessible style and actually very interesting. Ever since I read this book I won't buy a banana in my supermarket without a great amount of wonder. About how mysterious it actually is: a fruit without seeds. And more than that: how such a delicate tropical fruit ended up here at all. ( )

Everything you could ever want to know about the banana. This was a fabulous book. Unbelievable insights to how the bright yellow fruit wound up on America' breakfast table, and the possible dim future it faces. ( )

I’ve never really thought much about the banana. I was terrified of them as a child, suspecting that there were deadly poisonous spiders concealed within each bunch. I’ve gotten a little older now, and occasionally enjoy them, but they’ve not really ever been on my mind until I read Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World that tells the reader all about its past, its present, and its future.

Full review: http://libwen.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/banana-the-fate-of-the-fruit-that-changed... ( )

A good overview from the point of view of the banana plant. Sweeps between countries and continents, clarifying events, actions, and their consequences. I especially appreciate the history of the U.S. and Central American countries in the light of banana agribusiness.

it reads like a magazine article. and i mean that in a good way and a bad way. it's good because it's simple, entertaining and quick. straight to the point and informative. it sure packs a lot of information.
what i don't like is that it's really meant for the general public so it seems to have the literary tropes of standard journalist storytelling. all to evident. but if you are not paying attention to that it's an easy interesting read.
you'll learn a lot about banana diseases and the evil fingers of banana companies in latin america particularly and in the rest of the world.
one interesting debate goes around genetically modified foods. it appears it's not that bad on bananas because the plants are sterile; they depend on human intervention to reproduce, there is no pollen or seeds, so issues around GMOed plants hybridizing other plants are not there. ( )

Like the companies that spearheaded its worldwide distribution, the banana has a complicated history. Inherently sterile, it's all but dependent upon humans for production; at the same time, it's such a completely ubiquitous staple for so many people that its removal almost guarantees disaster. Koeppel's brisk timeline from the Garden of Eden to today's brink of extinction slogs a bit into political storytelling at times, but the tales of the lengths corporations will go to secure the immediate future of their bread and butter (or bananas and Corn Flakes, in this case) is like reading an expose on the Iraq war; eye-opening, but really not anything you didn't already suspect. ( )

I thought it would be interesting, but the writing style is boring. The author makes statements but does not really go into detail to support his scientific findings. ( )

This is yet another entry in the single-subject world of non-fiction. The narrowness of focus in books such as Salt and Cod and The Book on the Bookshelf and The Pencil and Longitude seems to be an increasingly preevalent trend in publishing. I am all for it on one level, since I like delving into the abstruse and wallowing in details that leave most people I know colder than a penguin's butt in the middle of the Antarctic winter; but on another level, I want to stop these publishers before they bore again with books inadequately edited and organized.

There are three pieces to the banana...the history of humanity's first cultivated plant (modern evidence from New Guinea shows human cultivation from 9000 years ago was of bananas, but for their corms not the fingers we eat today); the politics of the modern cultivation of the banana (the term "banana republic", which I have used without thinking for 30+ years, has a very literal beginning and a scarily modern ring); and the future of humankind's most basic and widely distributed food crop (essential to survival in several parts of the world, the banana is also under threat from several pests that defy modern chemistry to abate, still less conquer, and squeamish food-o-phobes in wealthy countries oppose all modern genetic engineering that could save the survival crop of many parts of the world). These three strands are awkwardly interwoven, with no obvious guiding editorial hand to make sense of their interrelation.

It's a shame, too, because this is a huge, important topic, and the author's not inconsiderable talents are well-used in bringing the facts to light. The loss of our American favorite banana, the Cavendish, from grocery shelves will be an inconvenience at most; the fact that two major American corporations are, double-handedly (is that a word?), responsible for the spread of the blights that threaten the world crop with the complicity of the American government, should mean that we as a country are liable to find solutions to the pressing problems of food security in the places we've so screwed over. Free. But that won't happen, you can bet on that.

Back to the book...too much narrative drive is lost in the author's back-and-forth cross-cutting of the basic story. I wish someone had said, "Yo Dan...first third of the book is the banana as a plant; second third is the politics of the banana; last is the science of the plant." I wonder if that was what they tried, and the interconnections of all the information prevented its success? I somehow don't think so.

It's a good-enough book on an important topic that SHOULD cause each person who reads it some discomfort at our societal callousness and myopia. I recommend it to those most likely to be irritated by progressive politics and social liberalism. Isolationists particularly encouraged to apply! ( )

Read Dan Koeppel's Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World (Hudson Street Press, 2008), and I bet you'll never look at a banana quite the same way again. Expanding on a 2005 Popular Science article, Koeppel's book is a biological, political and commercial history of the banana. It is also a call to action, since the banana as we know it may be just years away from disappearing completely thanks to a fast-moving series of pathogens which have the potential to bring its reign atop the fruit bowl to a precipitous end.

Part travelogue, part exposé, part history lesson, Koeppel's book takes us from the banana plantations to Latin America to the village plots of Africa to the research labs of Belgium, where scientists are racing against time to combat the spreading plague and make the world safe for bananas. What remains to be seen is whether the ultimately successful fruit will be the variety we currently eat (the Cavendish), or if some other version will have to be (or even can be) modified to meet the consumer needs the Cavendish currently satisfies (easily transported, hard to bruise, on a regular ripening schedule). It's happened before; the variety of banana grown and marketed until the late 1950s was the Gros Michel, which succumbed to the same cocktail of diseases our current banana faces today.

The banana's checkered past is laid bare here as Koeppel peels away the decades of nefarious practices engaged in by the large banana companies in Central and South America and the Caribbean as they fought each other for the commercial edge (and in the process greatly abused their works, the environment, and the governments of the nations they practically controlled). And Koeppel's point about the inherent weaknesses of the banana as an export crop is a good one: if we followed the precepts of locavorism, the banana would be about the last thing most of us would be eating, and perhaps that's the way it should be. But, as he writes, that seems unlikely, so perhaps at least understanding what's behind what we're eating is the best we can do for now.

A worthy book; I learned a great deal.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2009/03/book-review-banana.html ( )

Detailed and interesting look at the past, present and future of bananas. Surprised by the level of involvement of banana companies in South American government; even more surprised by US involvement on behalf of the banana companies. Provides some insight into the efforts by researchers to develop a banana that would be capable of replacing the Cavendish, which is plagued by disease. Brief discussion on genetically modified foods (author believes this may be the only way to save the banana). ( )

Did you know that more bananas are eaten world-wide than apples and oranges combined? I do now, thanks to this interesting discussion of bananas -- their biologic, political and commercial history.

Dan Koeppel has researched his subject well, and written an accessible and never boring book. Bananas are actually sterile berries; each is a genetic clone and therefore vulnerable to disease. Panama disease is threatening the fruit now, and because it is a food staple in much of the world, this has much larger ramifications than what to slice over our cereal every morning.

I really recommend this fascinating look at something we very much take for granted. ( )

Bananas start my day. I eat one almost every morning and seldom leave a grocery store without a fresh bunch. But the familiar yellow Cavendish banana is a threatened fruit, succumbing to Panama Disease in several parts of the world and facing extinction like the Gros Michel banana so popular 50 years ago.

I heard about this threat a few years ago but the details were vague. I reacted to it with disbelief. How could a common fruit available at the corner store for 79 cents per pound be in peril? But it is, and it has been for decades. Dan Koeppel's new book, Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, explains it all and delivers a few surprises, too.

Koeppel, the author of To See Every Bird on Earth (a book I enjoyed a couple years ago), takes us on a history of the banana with all its innovations, corruption, and place in our culture.

* Innovations: Transporting a tropical fruit to northern markets before rotting brought about the beginnings of the modern fruit industry.
* Corruption: There's a reason 'banana republic' is a derisive term. The one or two largest banana companies operate in the shadow of terribly shameful histories.
* Culture: I need only to mention vaudevillians slipping on a peel, "Yes, We Have No Bananas", and that oval blue sticker.

Between the tragic tales of oppression in Central America and curious banana miscellany, Koeppel returns again and again to the research and strategies involved in the nearly century-long battle to save the Cavendish banana crop. The banana is eaten by more people around the world than apples and oranges combined, he says. It's more critical to their diets, too.

It's also more vulnerable. Every seedless Cavendish is a clone of it's mother plant, difficult to cultivate and susceptible to disease. Panama Disease, Black Sigatoka, and several other plant-choking maladies have already ravaged plantations across Asia and Africa. It's only a matter of time before it threatens Central America, devastating not only the fruit but the people and whole economies dependent on the banana. Banana republics have never had it easy.

I eat a Cavendish daily. I've had red bananas before. Lately I've been cooking plantains, too. I'd like to try some of the other varieties Koeppel mentions, but they are mostly unavailable in the United States due to economic reasons. Disease-resistant bananas might prove to be the solution to the Cavendish's problems, but, ironically, such engineered marvels would be unavailable in most foreign markets that prohibit genetically-modified foods.

There's no easy solution. The banana is a delicious fruit surrounded by problems.

Find more of my reviews at Mostly NF.

Absolutely fascinating book on something so obsequious and mundane, just sitting there slowly ripening on the kitchen counter. From the story of Adam and Eve to CIA coups to biodiversity, this book covers a lot of territory and Dan Koeppel keeps it fun and fascinating. Definitely recommended. ( )

I don’t usually like bananas, but after reading Koeppel’s lyrical description of what one writer called “an elongated yellow fruit” I had to rush right out to Publix and buy a bunch. Then I ate them, one by one, as I devoured the rest of this fascinating little book. I learned that bananas “are the world’s largest fruit crop, and the fourth-largest product grown overall, after wheat, rice, and corn” (xiii). But more than that, I learned how the most popular banana in the world, the one I sat slowly savoring, the Cavendish, is in real danger of extinction; partly because most cultivated bananas are genetic clones of one another. I learned that bananas, not rice, are the food staple that keeps a large part of the world alive, and that frantic efforts have been underway for a while to breed a hardier and still appetizing banana – one that is resistant to a rapidly spreading and devastating blight. Koeppel’s clear prose lays out the story of the banana, from its possible spread from Asia to Africa, to the rewriting of the geopolitical map of Latin America by United States’ fruit conglomerates. This well-written work should be a welcome companion to other books on vital world food resources, such as Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Highly recommended. ( )

A quick read at 241 pages - finished it in one day, lot of white space, pictures and easy magazine-style grammar. Standard non-fiction journalistic narrative, there is no main character (other than Koeppel), the mystery driving the "plot" is the current plight of the Banana to disease and the history of how it came about. Along the way we learn there are 100s (1000s ?) of varieties of banana's, of which most Americans have only ever tried or seen one, the ubiquitous Cavendish. Some interesting bios. Light read. ( )