The banana is actually a giant berry and there are thousands of types. For the story of the banana is one of scientific, marketing, business and economic success and intrigue and also of the exploitation and malevolence that can come from the excesses of capitalism and colonialism. The subtitle of the book is “The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World”. And, as in other recent, single-named books such as "Salt" and "Cod", he puts the fruit into its historical context. He covers the science, biology and agriculture. 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.Dan Koeppel’s 2009 book, "Banana", tells us much about this ubiquitous, yellow staple. Today?s yellow banana, the Cavendish, is increasingly threatened by such a blight?and there?s no cure in sight. A seedless fruit with a unique reproductive system, every banana is a genetic duplicate of the next, and therefore susceptible to the same blights. But the biggest mystery about the banana today is whether it will survive. Entire Central American nations have been said to rise and fall over the banana. 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?). But for all its ubiquity, the banana is surprisingly mysterious nobody knows how bananas evolved or exactly where they originated. In others parts of the world, bananas are what keep millions of people alive.
Americans eat more bananas than apples and oranges combined.
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.
0 kommentar(er)
