Overview

A classic of reportage, Oranges was first conceived as a magazine article, but John McPhee kept encountering so much irresistible information that he wrote a book. It is perhaps the last word on the subject--the first came in 500 BC and is attributed to Confucius. McPhee writes about the botany, history, and industry of oranges, from the great orangeries of European monarchs to a fascinating profile of Ben Hill Griffin of Frostproof, Florida, who may be the last of the individual orange barons. Oranges developed in Southeast Asia, and they spread through the world with a timing closely parallel to the spread of Western civilization. It was Columbus himself who brought the first orange seeds to the New World. Botanically, they are spectacularly complicated. They can be completely unripe when they are a brilliant orange and deliciously ripe when they are green as emeralds. Citrus is so genetically perverse that oranges can grow from lime seeds. Most Florida oranges grow on lemon roots. Louis XIV hung tapestries of oranges in the halls of Versailles because oranges and orange trees were the symbols of his nature and his reign. This book, in a sense, is a tapestry of oranges, too--with elements in it that range from the customs of French kings to those of people in the modern Caribbean who split oranges and clean floors with them, one half in each hand.

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Reviews

"""Fascinating. A sterling example of what a fresh point of view, a clear style, a sense of humor and diligent investigation can do to reveal the inherent interest in something as taken-for-granted as your morning orange juice."" -- ""Wall Street Journal"" ""It is a delicious book, in a word, and more absorbing than many a novel."" -- ""Harper's"" ""The audiobook brings together the supreme storyteller and the exceptional story performer. Gardner's singular voice and intelligent style were made to deliver McPhee...From grove to glass, McPhee has done the work. And this pleasurable listen is delivered by a master. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award."" -- ""AudioFile"""

Author Information

John McPhee is the award-winning author of thirty books, including Annals of the Former World, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1999. Encounters with the Archdruid and The Curve of Binding Energy were nominated for National Book Award in the category of science. He received the Award in Literature from the Academy of Arts and Letters in 1977. His writing career began at Time magazine and led to his long association with the New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965. Grover Gardner, a professional actor, director, and teacher, has narrated over 650 audiobooks. He was named one of the Best Voices of the Century by AudioFile magazine as well as a Golden Voice, and he has received over twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards. He has also won two coveted Audie Awards, as well as being a three-time finalist. In 2005, Publishers Weekly named him Audiobook Narrator of the Year.

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