The Orchid Thief

Release Date:- 1998-12-15

Reviews Counts:- 86

User Average Rating:- 4

Availability:- In Stock

Kind:- ebook

$14.99

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ā€¢ A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
 
A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orleanā€™s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flowerā€”the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindeniiā€”a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of Americaā€™s strange flower-selling subculture, through Floridaā€™s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orleanā€”and the readerā€”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 ā€œorchid thief,ā€ 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 Readerā€™s Circle for author chats and more.
 
Praise for The Orchid Thief
 
ā€œStylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orleanā€™s] gifts in full bloom.ā€ā€”The New York Times Book Review
 
ā€œFascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.ā€ā€”Los Angeles Times
 
ā€œOrleanā€™s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.ā€ā€”The Washington Post Book World
 
ā€œOrleanā€™s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.ā€ā€”Boston Sunday Globe
 
ā€œA swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.ā€ā€”The Wall Street Journal

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