{"product_id":"orchid-fever-a-horticultural-tale-of-love-lust-and-lunacy-paperback","title":"Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eEric Hansen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe acclaimed author of \u003cb\u003eMotoring with Mohammed\u003c\/b\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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 \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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.\" --\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 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. \u003cbr\u003eThe 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. \u003cbr\u003e\"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 \u003cbr\u003e\"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\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEric Hansen now lives in San Francisco, but over the last twenty-five years he has traveled throughout Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. His articles and reviews have appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, Travel and Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside Magazine, Men's Journal, Natural History Magazine, GEO, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAmica\u003c\/i\u003e. He is also the author of two highly acclaimed books: \u003cb\u003eStranger in the Forest\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eMotoring with Mohammed\u003c\/b\u003e (available in paperback from Vintage Books). He can be reached at ekhansen@ix.netcom.com.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.61 x 8.04 x 5.26 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 27, 2001\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51753164112160,"sku":"9780679771838","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/e94f9b6bb2cb8a48ce577b6dd1800c4d.webp?v=1780014127","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/orchid-fever-a-horticultural-tale-of-love-lust-and-lunacy-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}