Really enjoyed this book. There was some science, about plants, insects, quarantines , etc. and some human interest, as he did give the individual “characters “ (real people) enough voice that you cared what happened to them. There’s were nods to historical events, imperialism, planes, world war, etc. honestly this book has it all ( )

I was on the fence of whether to rate this book with 3 or 4 stars. I decided to err on the side of generosity because the accomplishments of the main subjects of this book deserve to be known and celebrated. So many foods you encounter daily are the direct or indirect result of the intrepid works of a handful of men over a century ago. ( )

Entertaining microhistory, some parts more than others. It's difficult to contextualize without really discussing that history in a way that is tangential, which of course I would have also enjoyed. Now, I would like a personal pineapple, please. ( )

Wow. I am not normally a voracious page-turner of non-fiction, but this one did it for me.

This is the true story of David Fairchild, a man who was responsible for immeasurably enriching America's agriculture. Does that sound dull? It's not. If you're like me, you love food. If you're like me, you maybe also consider yourself fairly willing to try new things and food of different ethnicities. BUT, none of us can escape that we are probably pretty complacent about the foods we have grown up with, the foods we assume "belong" to our people and our lifestyle. These foods somehow seem to just naturally have pride of place on our menu, and that's just the way it is, and they're normal, and everything else, while interesting and maybe delicious, is slightly exotic and "outside."

Wrong.

When I learned, from this book, how much painstaking work and passion went into importing new plants into America--plants that produce food we now take for granted--I was in awe. When I realized what an absolute lottery of chance it was that certain plants found success in the United States and other plants never quite got a proper opportunity due to accident or poor timing, I was confounded. My exciting, profound takeaway from this book is that there is SO MUCH food out there and given a slight alteration in history or policy, ALL of it could have been MY "normal". If this doesn't change the way you look at food, and enhance your willingness to try all types, then nothing will.

This book was extremely well written. Usually when I read non-fiction, I set myself goals of a certain number of pages per time. When I was at about 70% towards the end, I intended to stop for a bit, but I just kept on going. I wanted to know what happened to David Fairchild, to his star explorer Frank Meyer (SO tragic and when I use Meyer lemons from now on I will contemplate his life with the proper gravitas), and to the edge-of-your-seat battle between the plant importers and the pest preventers.

This is a tale of a little espionage, a little diplomacy, a little bureaucracy, a little romance, a lot of friendship, and a driving curiosity about the good stuff on the planet.

Here are a few choice quotes:
"[Fairchild] used to say, 'Never be satisfied with what you know, only with what more you can find out."

"Fairchild liked the idea of espionage, but he was as skilled at covert action as he was at ballroom dancing, having done neither."

"For a botanist, the first taste of a new plant was like meeting a new person, and recalling it flooded the mind with memories of where it had happened, what the tongue expected, and what it found instead."

"Wasn't it strange, Fairchild observed, man's propensity to be satisfied with so little when so much was available?" YES, I think so too!

"A glass ceiling could be shattered once; after that, latecomers could only break the pieces into smaller and smaller shards."

"His cynicism about people's stubborn tastes had grown strong. "I know there are many people who will shy at the idea of even tasting the leaves of the papaya," Fairchild wrote..."But as they shake their heads they will reach for a cigarette."



***I first learned about this book from a Smithsonian podcast called "Side Door," and NetGalley kindly gave me access to a digital review copy. ( )

This was a fairly interesting book on the push for new crops in the US and the use of the USDA to distribute them and educate farmers. David Fairchild traveled around the world bringing back cuttings, seeds and rootstocks of plants he felt had potential. Some have become staples of our diet. However I am not clear why the author felt the need to paint Charles Marlatt as a villain for insisting on proper inspection and quarantine of imported plants. As an entomologist Marlatt feared the importation of pests, and obviously that was a realistic fear. His opinions made Fairchild's work more difficult, but he was still correct in his cautions. I guess the author just sort of fell in love with his subject.