Download or read book The Orchid Thief written by Susan Orlean and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2011-07-20 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 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. Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii—a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles 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. In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for The Orchid Thief “Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.”—The New York Times Book Review “Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.”—Los Angeles Times “Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.”—The Washington Post Book World “Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.”—Boston Sunday Globe “A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”—The Wall Street Journal

Download or read book Orchid Fever written by Eric Hansen and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2016-09-21 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed author of Motoring with Mohammed brings us a compelling adventure into the remarkable world of the orchid and the impossibly bizarre array of international characters who dedicte their lives to it. The orchid is used for everything from medicine for elephants to an aphrodisiac ice cream. A Malaysian species can grow to weigh half a ton while a South American species fires miniature pollen darts at nectar-sucking bees. But the orchid is also the center of an illicit international business: one grower in Santa Barbara tends his plants while toting an Uzi, and a former collector has been in hiding for seven years after serving a jail sentence for smuggling thirty dollars worth of orchids into Britain. Deftly written and captivatingly researched, Orchid Fever is an endlessly enchanting and entertaining tour of an exotic world. "A wonderful book, I've been up all night reading it, laughing and crying out in horror and clucking at the vivid images of bureaucracy with the bit in its teeth." —Annie Proulx "An extraordinary, well-told tale of botany, obsession and plant politics. Hansen's vivid descriptions of the complex techniques some orchids use to pollinate themselves will raise your eyebrows at nature's sexual ingenuity." —USA Today

Download or read book Orchid Fever written by Eric Hansen and published by Methuen Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A true story of one of the world's strangest plants and humanity's oddest obsessions: the orchid, brought to book by the author, traveller and self-confessed orchid obsessive.

Download or read book Miniature Orchids written by Steven A. Frowine and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-08-16 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a 2016 revised version of this popular, highly-0 rated, but out-of-print book. Some of the most intriguing orchids are those classified as miniatures - plants that range from just an inch or two in height to a maximum of 12 inches. Steven Frowine profiles more than 300 of these gems, including representatives of some of the most popular genera. Entries include information on the plant's geographic or hybrid origin; details about the flowers; bloom season; mature size and habit; ease of culture; light and temperature requirements; recommended potting medium; history; and tips for success. The author's high-quality photographs make identification a snap and provide welcome help when you're selecting plants for your collection.

Download or read book The Orchid in Lore and Legend written by Luigi Berliocchi and published by Timber Press (OR). This book was released on 2000 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Berliocchi (1953-1999), former lecturer in garden history at the University of Reggio Calabria, Italy, presents a lively history of orchids, including myths and legends, their uses from prehistory to modern times, patrons and hunters, arts and customs, the plants' habitat and structure, descriptions of the genera, and basic culture. Fine period color plates and b&w illustrations throughout. A translation from Italian of Il Fiore Degli Dei, L'Orchidea dal Mito Alla Storia, 1996, Nuovi Equilibri, Viterbo, Italy.Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Download or read book Empress Orchid written by Anchee Min and published by HMH. This book was released on 2005-04-11 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating novel, similar to Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha . . . A revisionist portrait of a beautiful and strong-willed woman” (Houston Chronicle). A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year From Anchee Min, a master of the historical novel, Empress Orchid sweeps readers into the heart of the Forbidden City to tell the fascinating story of a young concubine who becomes China’s last empress. Min introduces the beautiful Tzu Hsi, known as Orchid, and weaves an epic of the country girl who seized power through seduction, murder, and endless intrigue. When China is threatened by enemies, she alone seems capable of holding the country together. In this “absorbing companion piece to her novel Becoming Madame Mao,” readers and reading groups will once again be transported by Min’s lavish evocation of the Forbidden City in its last days of imperial glory and by her brilliant portrait of a flawed yet utterly compelling woman who survived, and ultimately dominated, a male world (The New York Times). “Superb . . . [An] unforgettable heroine.” —People “A sexually charged, eye-opening portrayal of the Chinese empire . . . with heart-wrenching scenes of desperate failure and a sensuality that rises off its heated pages.” —Elle

Download or read book Seeds of Fortune written by Sue Shephard and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2012-11-05 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over a century, and across five generations, the Veitch family pioneered the introduction of hundreds of new plants into gardens, conservatories and houses and were amongst the foremost European cultivators and hybridisers of their day. The story begins in 1768 when a Scotsman called John Veitch came to England to find his fortune, starting out as a gardener for the aristocracy. Realising that horticultural mania had begun to spread throughout the social classes, John's son, James, opened a nursery in Exeter and began to send some of the first commercial plant collectors into the Americas, Australia, India, Japan, China and the South Seas. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Veitch's had become key figures within the gardening establishment, involved with the Royal Horticultural Society from its beginnings and the great Chelsea Flower Show. Combining an historian's eye for detail with a flair for storytelling, Shephard charts the fortunes of one family and through them tells the fascinating story of the modern English garden.

Download or read book Saturday Night written by Susan Orlean and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author embarks on a journey across the country to find out what Saturday night means to different people in American culture.

Download or read book Bike Fever written by Lee Gutkind and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2014-03-11 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DIVDIVLee Gutkind’s memoir of motorcycling, and an ode to the solitude, independence, and exhilaration of the open road/divDIV Few things loom as large in our imaginations as the idea of a cross-country trip, exposed to the elements and open to whatever challenges lie around the bend. In the early 1970s, looking to experience and explain the allure of the road trip, Lee Gutkind embarked on a long motorcycle road trip, documenting the misadventures and magic that he found along the way. He writes of the men whose journeys continue to resonate, from Lawrence of Arabia to the Hell’s Angels. He explores the appeal of the motorcycle—his vehicle of choice—and its historically loaded place in the American imagination. And he revels in the country’s diverse and striking landscapes, as seen while moving through woods, plains, mountains, and deserts./divDIV An inspiring and evocative tribute to the power of the journey, Bike Fever is a classic rendering of the unique freedom wrought by a motorcycle and a long highway./divDIV/div/div

Download or read book Wall of Orchids written by The New York Botanical Garden and published by Clarkson Potter. This book was released on 2018-10-09 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty beautiful, brilliantly colored prints of rare orchids from the New York Botanical Garden collection housed in a keepsake box to be published in time for the wildly popular annual Orchid Show at the NYBG This elegant box of prints features 20 magnificent reproductions of rare orchid paintings from the NYBG's world-renowned collection. They can be mounted together for a dramatic wall statement or singly for wider range and for gifting. Irresistible for fans of botanical art and orchid lovers in particular and printed on luxurious card stock, they fit both a10 x 12 inch frame or an 11 x 14-inch frame with mat.

Download or read book The Feather Thief written by Kirk Wallace Johnson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-04-24 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As heard on NPR's This American Life “Absorbing . . . Though it's non-fiction, The Feather Thief contains many of the elements of a classic thriller.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air “One of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime books ever.” —Christian Science Monitor A rollicking true-crime adventure and a captivating journey into an underground world of fanatical fly-tiers and plume peddlers, for readers of The Stranger in the Woods, The Lost City of Z, and The Orchid Thief. On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin's obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins—some collected 150 years earlier by a contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Russel Wallace, who'd risked everything to gather them—and escaped into the darkness. Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist high in a river in northern New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide told him about the heist. He was soon consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? Had Edwin paid the price for his crime? What became of the missing skins? In his search for answers, Johnson was catapulted into a years-long, worldwide investigation. The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless pursuit of justice, The Feather Thief is also a fascinating exploration of obsession, and man's destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature.

Download or read book In Defense of Plants written by Matt Candeias and published by Mango Media Inc.. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Study of Plants in a Whole New Light “Matt Candeias succeeds in evoking the wonder of plants with wit and wisdom.” ―James T. Costa, PhD, executive director, Highlands Biological Station and author of Darwin's Backyard #1 New Release in Nature & Ecology, Plants, Botany, Horticulture, Trees, Biological Sciences, and Nature Writing & Essays In his debut book, internationally-recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms. A botanist’s defense. Since his early days of plant restoration, this amateur plant scientist has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection. Using gardening, houseplants, and examples of plants around you, In Defense of Plants changes your relationship with the world from the comfort of your windowsill. The ruthless, horny, and wonderful nature of plants. Understand how plants evolve and live on Earth with a never-before-seen look into their daily drama. Inside, Candeias explores the incredible ways plants live, fight, have sex, and conquer new territory. Whether a blossoming botanist or a professional plant scientist, In Defense of Plants is for anyone who sees plants as more than just static backdrops to more charismatic life forms. In this easily accessible introduction to the incredible world of plants, you’ll find: • Fantastic botanical histories and plant symbolism • Passionate stories of flora diversity and scientific names of plant organisms • Personal tales of plantsman discovery through the study of plants If you enjoyed books like The Botany of Desire, What a Plant Knows, or The Soul of an Octopus, then you’ll love In Defense of Plants.

Download or read book Orchid written by Jim Endersby and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-11-07 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The prize-winning history of the orchid: “an engaging and enlightening account of one of the Earth's most mythologized botanical wonders” (Richard Conniff, author of House of Lost Worlds). At once delicate, exotic, and elegant, orchids are beloved for their singular, instantly recognizable beauty. Found in nearly every climate, the many species of orchid have had varying forms of significance in countless cultures over time. Following the orchid’s journey from Ancient Greek medicine to twentieth century detective novels, science historian Jim Endersby explores the flower’s four recurring themes: science, empire, sex, and death. Orchids were a symbol of the exotic riches sought by 19th century Europeans in their plans for colonization. They became subjects of scientific scrutiny for Charles Darwin, who investigated their methods of cross-pollination. As Endersby shows, orchids—perhaps because of their extraordinarily diverse colors, shapes, and sizes—have also bloomed repeatedly in films, novels, plays, and poems, from Shakespeare to science fiction. Featuring many gorgeous illustrations from the collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Orchid: A Cultural History was awarded the Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize by the History of Science Society. It is an enchanting tale not only for gardeners and plant collectors, but anyone curious about the flower’s obsessive hold on the imagination in history, cinema, literature, and more.

Download or read book The Scent of Scandal written by Craig Pittman and published by Florida History and Culture. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2012 Florida Book Awards, Silver Medal for Florida Non-Fiction "FANTASTIC. If I did not know most of the main players I would have thought the author had a vivid and twisted imagination."--Paul Martin Brown, author of Wild Orchids of Florida "A fascinating true story of obsession, greed, and lust for the unobtainable. Reminds me a great deal of The Maltese Falcon. This rare flower is definitely the stuff that dreams are made of."--Ace Atkins, author of Devil's Garden and Infamous "Pittman has captured the extreme competition, unique characters, and general insanity that often typify the orchid world. The Scent of Scandal exemplifies how passion and profit can overrule common sense and the law."--Scott Steward, former associate editor, North American Native Orchid Journal After its Peruvian discovery in 2002, Phragmipedium kovachii became the rarest and most sought-after orchid in the world. Prices soared to $10,000 on the black market. Then one showed up at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, where every year more than 100,000 people visit. They come for the lush landscape on Sarasota Bay and for Selby's vast orchid collection, one of the most magnificent in the world. The collision between Selby's scientists and the smugglers of Phrag. Kovachii, a rare ladyslipper orchid hailed as the most significant and beautiful new species discovered in a century, led to search warrants, a grand jury investigation, and criminal charges. It made headlines around the country, cost the gardens hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, and led to tremendous internal turmoil. Investigative journalist Craig Pittman unravels this tangled web to shine a spotlight on flaws in the international treaties governing trade in endangered wildlife--which may protect individual plants and animals in shipping but do little to halt the destruction of whole colonies in the wild. The Scent of Scandal unspools like a riveting mystery novel, stranger than anything in Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief or the film Adaptation. Pittman shows how some people can become so obsessed--with beauty, with profit, with fame--that they will ignore everything, even the law.

Download or read book The Orchid written by Lauren Gardiner and published by . This book was released on 2019-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enhanced with notes and letters held in Kew's archives and illustrations, this is an exceptionally beautiful book on an extraordinary plant.

Download or read book In Your Face written by Dr. Bryan Mendelson and published by Hardie Grant Publishing. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World-renowned aesthetic plastic surgeon Dr Bryan Mendelson guides us through the fascinating history of facial surgery. From his patients’ own stories, learn what it’s like when what’s on the outside doesn’t match who we are on the inside. Travel back through the millennia to see how the communal societies of our simian ancestors transformed the pre-human face into the expressive features we have today. Learn why the face is so important and how it has evolved into an essential—instinctive and immediate—tool of communication. Revisit the birth of reconstructive surgery in 6th century BCE India, and follow developments through the lunchtime face lifts of 1920s France, to the discovery of the fascia (the fibrous support layer beneath the skin), and Mendelson’s own role in changing the face of aesthetic plastic surgery forever. Full of fascinating historical detail told from a unique professional perspective, In Your Face provides real insight into why we’re so invested in appearance and the lengths we’re prepared to go to change the way we look.

Download or read book Modern Plant Hunters written by S. B. Primrose and published by Pimpernel Press. This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only book to tell the stories of the modern plant hunters - and their breathtaking adventures.