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| Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy | 
 enlarge | Author: Eric Hansen
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $0.67
You Save: $13.28 (95%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 38668
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 0679771832
Dewey Decimal Number: 910
EAN: 9780679771838
ASIN: 0679771832
Publication Date: February 27, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, best prices.
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| Customer Reviews:
A Book you soon will not Forget October 27, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I can not imagine this book getting too many one star ratings. A similar book on the same subject, "Orchid Thief" portrays the wackiness of Americans crazed by Orchid collecting, but America takes 2nd place in this book that gives a worldwide view of the extremes
Orchid collectors go to, to pursue the object of their desire. The author's style is extemely entertaining, and it shows that much globe trotting and investigative work went into obtaining material for this book. The author hears a rumor that in Turkey children can jump rope with a concoction made from orchids and this rope can be made into a type of orchid ice cream. The author is off to Turkey for some detective work, or pursuing a reclusive Orchid theif for an interview.
One of the main points of this book is that often these orchid fanatics are considered shady characters by the international Orchid conservation groups and their CITES law. The spirit and the results of CITES law seems to be at cross-purposes. The CITES regulations are actually preventing wild samples from being shipped to areas where they can be studied and propagated. Making natural pockets of rare orchids even more valuable. The author gives numerous examples of rare Orchids in their natural locations becoming a victim of a third world country's development program, logging, or highway construction which the CITES laws are powerless to stop. All in All an excellent book the brings to light a bizarre interesting world that some people are caught up in.
 Hansen turns his gaze November 5, 2005
Eric Hansen is an author who seeks out that which is foreign to the Average American or Western European. His "Motoring with Mohammed" and "Stranger in the Forest" fascinate because of their exotic cultures and locations. "Orchid Fever," on the other hand, focuses on the intersection between the Western and the exotic, and our culture is the one that comes off as strange and illogical. The locus of that intersection is the orchid and its cultivation. The cultural structures, the bureaucratic labyrinths, the idiosyncratic obsessions associated with this family of plants is almost . . . almost . . . unbelievable. It's typical Hansen: excellent prose, strange worlds.
Close-up look at some interesting folks June 28, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
A very entertaining and engrossing look at those interesting individuals in love with orchids. The book also gives some examples of CITES which is a law designed to protect endangered animal and plant species. However if what Mr. Hansen writes is true the law just doesn't work the way it's supposed to. Quite an insightful and thought-provoking work.
There is also some excellent info. on the very diverse species of orchids which makes it easy to understand why these flowers are so addictive to some people.
Orchid Fever is a great read! March 16, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
OK, I admit it. I am a plant nut of the run of the mill, garden variety type. So reading Eric Hansen's book about the wild world of orchid people made me understand that I am really quite normal. This book is a must for anyone who is interested in plant development, plant collection and exploration. It also tells a chilling tale of government regulation gone amuck.
It is a complelling read, well paced and very engaging. It is the kind of book that you carry around with you on the off chance you can get a few more pages in while waiting in line or sitting on the throne. I also enjoyed the line drawings that I felt enhanced the story. I only wish the book was twice as long!
EXTREMELY WELL DONE October 4, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a good one and I highly recommend it. The author's style and syntax is wonderful and makes for an easy read. The book is extremely informative. I have delt in this area for years, i.e. orchids, and know for a fact, if anything, the author has down played the infighting, the horrible and insave government regulations, et al. Wheather or not you are into orchids, or even plants, this is an interesting read, very entertaining. This is one you should add to your collection. Thank you Mr Hansen!
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