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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
3.5. Good but went on forever. I started to read this book in early high school when I took online writing classes and one of them was about essay writing and analysis. A lot of snippets from this text. And then of course adaptation. Anyway now I can say I read it and it was a good follow up to Stoned and The Botany of Desire
The parts about Laroche, orchids, and time spent in the Fakahatchee were interesting and well written, but there wasn't enough of it. I thought there was too much random material about the fauna and flora of Florida and stories about smuggling wildlife (non-related to orchids). There were a lot of facts thrown in throughout the book which made me wonder how they were all related. I wanted to learn more about the orchid world, but a lot of the info seemed to brush the tip of a subject before moving onto another. Good to read if you want to learn more about the wildlife of this area in Florida in general but not if you want to learn more about orchids.
Enjoyable story of a very niche group of people and a very unique place (Florida, specifically the Fakahatchee Preserve).
Now I have to go re-watch Adaptation (a loose adaptation of this book)!
Now I have to go re-watch Adaptation (a loose adaptation of this book)!
Not bad, but not anywhere near as interesting as [b:The Library Book|39507318|The Library Book|Susan Orlean|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599591284l/39507318._SY75_.jpg|61126110].
“I never thought very many people in the world were very much like John Laroche, but I realized more and more that he was only an extreme, not an aberration - that most people in some way or another do strive for something exceptional, something to pursue, even at their peril, rather than abide an ordinary life.”
In the process of writing a magazine about John Laroche, the focus of this book, Orlean traveled to Florida to get to know Laroche and the orchid community. Orlean performed a deep dive into the history of orchid acquisition and cultivation as well as spotlighted the enmity amongst the bigwigs in the orchid world and the lengths desperate buyers have been willing to go to in order to obtain rare and holy grail orchids. Orlean examined the conflicting legislation where environmental protection and Native American rights intersected.
I thought this book would be more focused on Laroche and less on the orchid community. I was kind of hoping to find out what made him tick and how he justified removing and illegally transporting endangered plants. I was disappointed that the reason was that he was another mercenary, justifying all of his decisions and managing to at least half convince Orlean that his motives were pure. Laroche was so narcissistic and unlikeable as a person, using whatever he happened to be laser focused on at the moment as "…another opportunity to profit from human weakness, something he especially liked to do."
This book ended up being just ho hum to me, similar to how I felt after reading [b:The Feather Thief|44153387|The Feather Thief|Kirk Wallace Johnson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551792197l/44153387._SY75_.jpg|57423406].
In the process of writing a magazine about John Laroche, the focus of this book, Orlean traveled to Florida to get to know Laroche and the orchid community. Orlean performed a deep dive into the history of orchid acquisition and cultivation as well as spotlighted the enmity amongst the bigwigs in the orchid world and the lengths desperate buyers have been willing to go to in order to obtain rare and holy grail orchids. Orlean examined the conflicting legislation where environmental protection and Native American rights intersected.
I thought this book would be more focused on Laroche and less on the orchid community. I was kind of hoping to find out what made him tick and how he justified removing and illegally transporting endangered plants. I was disappointed that the reason was that he was another mercenary, justifying all of his decisions and managing to at least half convince Orlean that his motives were pure. Laroche was so narcissistic and unlikeable as a person, using whatever he happened to be laser focused on at the moment as "…another opportunity to profit from human weakness, something he especially liked to do."
This book ended up being just ho hum to me, similar to how I felt after reading [b:The Feather Thief|44153387|The Feather Thief|Kirk Wallace Johnson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551792197l/44153387._SY75_.jpg|57423406].
This is basically a piece of long-form journalism that delves into the illegal plant trade activities of a Florida Man. This guy is outrageous and larger than life, and I really enjoyed reading the true story (especially while remembering fragments from the ridiculously unfaithful movie adaptation, where the book’s main character is aptly depicted by Nicolas Cage).
I personally really enjoy narrative nonfiction to begin with, and as a Florida naturalist, the subject matter and nature depictions captivated me!
I read it on audio and was very engrossed.
I personally really enjoy narrative nonfiction to begin with, and as a Florida naturalist, the subject matter and nature depictions captivated me!
I read it on audio and was very engrossed.
Interesting topic but lacked focus. Too many primary sources for what could have been an essay
informative
reflective
slow-paced