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Search - The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession
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The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Paperback, Audio CD (Unabridged), Hardcover, Audio Cassette (Abridged), Audio CD (Abridged), Hardcover
Book Description:
In Susan Orlean's mesmerizing true story of beauty and obsession is John Laroche, a renegade plant dealer and sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he is missing his front teeth and has the posture of al dente spaghetti. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world's most extraordinary plants and trees. Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native American activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious.
New Yorker writer Susan Orlean followed Laroche through swamps and into the eccentric world of Florida's orchid collectors, a subculture of aristocrats, fanatics, and smugglers whose obsession with plants is all-consuming. Along the way, Orlean learned the history of orchid collecting, discovered an odd pattern of plant crimes in Florida, and spent time with Laroche's partners, a tribe of Seminole Indians who are still at war with the United States.
There is something fascinating or funny or truly bizarre on every page of The Orchid Thief: the story of how the head of a famous Seminole chief came to be displayed in the front window of a local pharmacy; or how seven hundred iguanas were smuggled into Florida; or the case of the only known extraterrestrial plant crime. Ultimately, however, Susan Orlean's book is about passion itself, and the amazing lengths to which people will go to gratify it. That passion is captured with singular vision in The Orchid Thief, a once-in-a-lifetime story by one of our most original journalists.
New Yorker writer Susan Orlean followed Laroche through swamps and into the eccentric world of Florida's orchid collectors, a subculture of aristocrats, fanatics, and smugglers whose obsession with plants is all-consuming. Along the way, Orlean learned the history of orchid collecting, discovered an odd pattern of plant crimes in Florida, and spent time with Laroche's partners, a tribe of Seminole Indians who are still at war with the United States.
There is something fascinating or funny or truly bizarre on every page of The Orchid Thief: the story of how the head of a famous Seminole chief came to be displayed in the front window of a local pharmacy; or how seven hundred iguanas were smuggled into Florida; or the case of the only known extraterrestrial plant crime. Ultimately, however, Susan Orlean's book is about passion itself, and the amazing lengths to which people will go to gratify it. That passion is captured with singular vision in The Orchid Thief, a once-in-a-lifetime story by one of our most original journalists.
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Top Member Book Reviews
April B. (
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
I actually went out and bought an orchid after reading this..uh oh..I'm hooked.
Donna E. (
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really enjoyed this. Uses the biography of a modern day orchid thief as the fabric into which author weaves interesting history and anecdotal tidbits. Language gets very course - but only when the person referred to speaks that way.
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a nonfiction book about the trade in illegal orchids. The author is a little too self interested, but it's still a good story.
Bonnie S. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Really enjoyed this book (didn't care much for the movie), and if you read it, be prepared to start buying orchids. You won't be able to help it.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Anyone who enjoys orchids will enjoy this book - the narrative is more a documentary than a story, but well done.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I was recommended this book, but I have to say that I was disappointed.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
An interesting book about Florida, Orchids and obsession.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
THE BOOK WAS SLOW TO ME. BUT I HAD SEEN THE MOVIE FIRST SO I THINK THAT RUINED IT. MAKES ME WANT TO GO TO FLORIDA AND SEE THE ORCHIDS.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a very unusual and highly readable book. It's well worth your time, and after you read it, be sure to see the movie, which isn't at all like the book, but is strange and fascinating. Both thumbs up!
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