{"product_id":"the-orchid-thief-paperback","title":"The Orchid Thief - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eSusan Orlean\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER - A \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eNOTABLE BOOK - THE BASIS FOR THE FILM \u003ci\u003eADAPTATION\u003c\/i\u003e DIRECTED BY SPIKE JONZE AND STARRING NICOLAS CAGE AND MERYL STREEP\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \"eccentric, illuminating, [and] hilarious\" (New York \u003ci\u003eDaily News\u003c\/i\u003e) true story of beauty and obsession in the swamps of Florida and the impassioned individuals who risk everything for the ultimate prize: a rare ghost orchid\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.\"--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMeet John Laroche, a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive renegade plant dealer. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole men were arrested with rare ghost orchids--\u003ci\u003ePolyrrhiza lindenii--\u003c\/i\u003ethey had stolen from a wild swamp in South Florida. Laroche had planned to clone the endangered orchids and sell them for a small fortune to impassioned buyers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief, \u003c\/i\u003eacclaimed journalist Susan Orlean follows Laroche through swamps and into the eccentric world of Florida's orchid collectors, a subculture of aristocrats, fanatics, and smugglers whose obsession with plants is all-consuming. This unforgettable tour of America's strange flower-selling subculture becomes even more bizarre as Orlean details how the head of a famous Seminole chief came to be displayed in the front window of a local pharmacy, how seven hundred iguanas were smuggled into Florida, and the case of the only known extraterrestrial plant crime. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA modern classic of personal journalism, \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief\u003c\/i\u003e is a wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession.\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Susan Orlean's mesmerizing true story of beauty and obsession is John Laroche, a renegade plant dealer and sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he is missing his front teeth and has the posture of al dente spaghetti. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world's most extraordinary plants and trees. Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native Amer-ican activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious. \u003cbr\u003e\"New Yorker writer Susan Orlean followed Laroche through swamps and into the eccentric world of Florida's orchid collectors, a subculture of aristocrats, fanatics, and smugglers whose obsession with plants is all-consuming. Along the way, Orlean learned the history of orchid collecting, discovered an odd pattern of plant crimes in Florida, and spent time with Laroche's partners, a tribe of Seminole Indians who are still at war with the United States. \u003cbr\u003eThere is something fascinating or funny or truly bizarre on every page of The Orchid Thief: the story of how the head of a famous Seminole chief came to be displayed in the front window of a local pharmacy; or how seven hundred iguanas were smuggled into Florida; or the case of the only known extraterrestrial plant crime. Ultimately, however, Susan Orlean's book is about passion itself, and the amazing lengths to which peoplewill go to gratify it. That passion is captured with singular vision in The Orchid Thief, a once-in-a-lifetime story by one of our most original journalists. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"From the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSusan Orlean\u003c\/b\u003e has been a staff writer for \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e since 1992 and has also written for \u003ci\u003eOutside, Esquire, Rolling Stone, \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Vogue\u003c\/i\u003e. She graduated from the University of Michigan and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. She now lives in Los Angeles and upstate New York with her husband and son.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8.16 x 5.46 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 04, 2000\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAward:\u003c\/strong\u003e Book Sense Book of the Year Award (2001)\u003c\/div\u003e\n                ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46403546939577,"sku":"9780449003718","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0686\/4309\/4713\/files\/pE094fj8_c9780449003718.webp?v=1781209364","url":"https:\/\/thoobo.com\/products\/the-orchid-thief-paperback","provider":"Thoobo","version":"1.0","type":"link"}