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The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (Ballantine Reader's Circle) | 
| Author: Susan Orlean
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $13.99 (100%)
New (66) Used (337) Collectible (11) from $0.01
Rating:  166 reviews
Sales Rank: 23878
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 044900371X
Dewey Decimal Number: 635.934409759
EAN: 9780449003718
Publication Date: January 4, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Good condition, wear from reading and use. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact and has some creases. The spine has signs of wear and creases. This copy may include "From the library of" labels, stickers or stamps and be an ex-library copy.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Orchidelirium is the name the Victorians gave to the flower madness that is for botanical collectors the equivalent of gold fever. Wealthy orchid fanatics of that era sent explorers (heavily armed, more to protect themselves against other orchid seekers than against hostile natives or wild animals) to unmapped territories in search of new varieties of Cattleya and Paphiopedilum. As knowledge of the family Orchidaceae grew to encompass the currently more than 60,000 species and over 100,000 hybrids, orchidelirium might have been expected to go the way of Dutch tulip mania. Yet, as journalist Susan Orlean found out, there still exists a vein of orchid madness strong enough to inspire larceny among collectors. The Orchid Thief centers on south Florida and John Laroche, a quixotic, charismatic schemer once convicted of attempting to take endangered orchids from the Fakahatchee swamp, a state preserve. Laroche, a horticultural consultant who once ran an extensive nursery for the Seminole tribe, dreams of making a fortune for the Seminoles and himself by cloning the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii. Laroche sums up the obsession that drives him and so many others: I really have to watch myself, especially around plants. Even now, just being here, I still get that collector feeling. You know what I mean. I'll see something and then suddenly I get that feeling. It's like I can't just have something--I have to have it and learn about it and grow it and sell it and master it and have a million of it. Even Orlean--so leery of orchid fever that she immediately gives away any plant that's pressed upon her by the growers in Laroche's circle--develops a desire to see a ghost orchid blooming and makes several ultimately unsuccessful treks into the Fakahatchee. Filled with Palm Beach socialites, Native Americans, English peers, smugglers, and naturalists as improbably colorful as the tropical blossoms that inspire them, this is a lyrical, funny, addictively entertaining read. --Barrie Trinkle
Product Description
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.
From Florida’s swamps to its courtrooms, the New Yorker writer follows one deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man’s possibly criminal pursuit of an endangered flower. Determined to clone the rare ghost orchid, Polyrrhiza lindenii, John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, along with the Seminole Indians 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.
Praise for The Orchid Thief:
“Fascinating . . . tales of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing . . . an engrossing journey.”
–Los Angeles Times
“Irresistible . . . a brilliantly reported account of an illicit scheme to housebreak Florida’s wild and endangered ghost orchid . . . Its central figure is John Laroche, the ‘oddball ultimate’ of a subculture whose members are so enthralled by orchids they ‘pursue them like lovers.’ ”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Artful . . . in Ms. Orlean’s skillful handling, her orchid story turns out to be distinctly ‘something more.’ . . . [Her] portrait of her sometimes sad-making orchid thief allows the reader to discover acres of opportunity where intriguing things can be found.”
–The New York Times
“Zestful . . . a swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”
–The Wall Street Journal
“Deliciously weird . . . compelling.”
–Detroit Free Press
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| Customer Reviews: Read 161 more reviews...
 Not what one would expect... May 29, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
So the movie of Adaptation was amazing and the overall story within this book is good, the themes and ideas hidden in there are good, but the writing, not so good.
I was rather disappointed by the extreme lack of decent writing here. This book was not a pleasure to read at all. It opened up with a little mock interview that Susan gave to herself and it was really kind of bad, not creative, and sounds like it was written by a 16 creative writing student.
All I can say is that the story was a good idea, the longing in some of parts was wonderful, but the writing, I am not a fan of.
 Fascinating Reading May 6, 2008
Truly fascinating reading. A friend encouraged me to read this after I became interested in and purchased several orchids at a recent orchid show. This book is an engaging journey through the history of orchids and orchid collecting as well as a revealing introduction to the often mysterious and sometimes elusive people who have been drawn to and fascinated by orchids over time. If you have an interest in orchids, do yourself the favor of reading this well-written and meticulously researched work. In fact, even if you do not have an interest in orchids you will find this book well worth your time. You may learning something of yourself in the process of reading it.
 The Orchid thief February 23, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Excellent story,great writer and terrific subject matter for anyone interested in Orchids or the State of Florida and some of it's history.
No Title November 4, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Pretty quick read because it is totally, utterly engrossing. Orlean has a wonderful writing style, and a knack for just the right amount of metaphors and similes. Plus terrific descriptive abilities. Every bit as wonderful as the film "Adaptation" which was made from this book. I really liked this non-fiction book about obsession, collectors, orchids, plants, all things in southern Florida. She gets to the heart of a true collectors mind. La Rouche an unforgettable person. She makes us "see" him. To paraphrase one unforgettable line - "I hate hiking in the swamp with convicts who have machetes."
Fishes, orchids, or anything we are intrigued by... October 22, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book reminded me of a story about the 'fishes':
Curious about North Americans before moving to North America, friends of mine did all they could to meet a North American. He was quiet when they were discussing life with universal categories. When asked about what he is most interested in, the North American lightened up and told them everything he knew about the fishes, his hobby. He was experiencing, interpreting and loving life through fishes (or orchids, or anything that we are deeply intrigued by), and my friends heard the most interesting story, told with love, passion and knowledge, and remained quiet and speechless for a long time.
The "Orchid Thief" is a fascinating book, and I truly loved all aspects of this journey - the visual language, the historical references, the characters and the whole gamut of their emotions.
Some short stories though, were told long in the book, which makes you feel the fatigue in these parts of the narration.
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