The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats

by Daniel Stone Narrated by Daniel Stone

Overview

The true adventures of David Fairchild, a turn-of-the-century food explorer who traveled the globe and introduced diverse crops like avocados, mangoes, seedless grapes-and thousands more-to the American plate.

“Fascinating.”-The New York Times Book Review ¿ “Fast-paced adventure writing.”-The Wall Street Journal ¿ “Richly descriptive.”-Kirkus ¿ “A must-read for foodies.”-HelloGiggles

In the nineteenth century, American meals were about subsistence, not enjoyment. But as a new century approached, appetites broadened, and David Fairchild, a young botanist with an insatiable lust to explore and experience the world, set out in search of foods that would enrich the American farmer and enchant the American eater.

Kale from Croatia, mangoes from India, and hops from Bavaria. Peaches from China, avocados from Chile, and pomegranates from Malta. Fairchild's finds weren't just limited to food: From Egypt he sent back a variety of cotton that revolutionized an industry, and via Japan he introduced the cherry blossom tree, forever brightening America's capital. Along the way, he was arrested, caught diseases, and bargained with island tribes. But his culinary ambition came during a formative era, and through him, America transformed into the most diverse food system ever created.

“Daniel Stone draws the reader into an intriguing, seductive world, rich with stories and surprises.*The Food Explorer*shows you the history and drama hidden in your fruit bowl. It's a delicious piece of writing.”-Susan Orlean,*New York Times*bestselling author of*The Orchid Thief and The Library Book

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2018 - AudioFile

Daniel Stone delivers a fast-paced narration of this globe-spanning audiobook about the botanist David Fairchild. The story is delivered as an adventure travelogue of Fairchild’s exploits around the globe, which brought mangoes, cashews, and avocados to the American farm and table. The Kansas-bred Fairchild was both smart and lucky. He had a chance encounter with millionaire traveler Barbour Lathrop, which evolved into a patronage and friendship that allowed the intrepid botanist to travel the world collecting cuttings and bringing back the remarkable seeds for foods that changed Americans bland nineteenth-century diet. Stone’s engaging reading style suits his subject well. Sadly, Fairchild ends up an embattled bureaucrat, but the excitement of his discoveries leaves the listener satisfied. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

The New York Times Book Review - Max Watman

This isn't another chapter in that old story about how we ate badly until fill-in-the-blank came along and revolutionized American dining. This is a story about a world in which there were no avocados until David Fairchild mailed some home, about a strange and meager period in our past in which no one had eaten a zucchini…Fairchild lived in optimistic times. Problems of land and crop management, he and his colleagues believed, were going to be solved in an entirely new way: "America's goal wasn't just to farm; it was to construct an industrial agricultural system bigger and more profitable than any group of people had ever built." The bloom, of course, is off that rose, but it doesn't make Fairchild's story, and the profound role he played in ushering us into modernity, any less fascinating.

Publishers Weekly

11/13/2017
Journalist Stone tracks the journeys of botanist David Fairchild (1869–1954), who changed American eating habits and agricultural practices by introducing a wide array of new crops and varietals. Making extensive use of Fairchild’s notes and writings, Stone elucidates Fairchild’s experiences across the globe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Fairchild’s efforts are responsible for American familiarity with the Hass avocado, the hops that fueled America’s beer makers, and the Egyptian cotton that transformed the desert Southwest, not to mention kale, cherry blossoms, soybeans, dates, and many other items. Stone builds suspense while describing the trials and tribulations associated with global travel of that period. He also investigates the inner working of Washington politics while detailing the battles between Fairchild, who wanted a free hand to import plants to boost the country’s economy, and those who thought that such introductions might do grave damage to native species. Stone also uses some of Fairchild’s experiences to discuss the way colonization was perceived at the onset of the 20th century. Photographs largely taken from the collection of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Fla., enrich the text. Foodies and scientists alike will appreciate Stone’s informative and entertaining book. Illus. Agent: Lauren Sharp, Aevitas Creative. (Feb.)

From the Publisher

Daniel Stone brings a forgotten era of American food back to the table. . . . Stone brings drama, humor, and perspective.”—Associated Press

“Mr. Stone is an amiable narrator who balances botany, culinary history, and travelogue with fast-paced adventure writing and a well-drawn cast of characters.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Narrated in vividly realized, richly descriptive text with accompanying photographs, Stone’s biography reanimates the legacy of an important contributor to the botanical diversity of America. . . . An erudite and entertaining historical biography of a food pioneer.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Foodies and scientists alike will appreciate Stone’s informative and entertaining book.”—Publishers Weekly

“The Food Explorer does a wonderful job bringing Fairchild’s story to life and giving this American original some overdue recognition.”—BookPage

“This fascinating read will appeal to those interested in American history and food culture, travel narratives, and agriculture.”—Library Journal (starred review) 

“[Stone] captures the flavor of an adventurous age, using Fairchild’s voluminous writings to launch vivid descriptions of his travels.”—Booklist

“Fascinating.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A must-read for foodies.”—HelloGiggles

“Daniel Stone draws the reader into an intriguing, seductive world, rich with stories and surprises. The Food Explorer shows you the history and drama hidden in your fruit bowl. It’s a delicious piece of writing.”—Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Orchid Thief
 
“The Food Explorer is not only filled with fascinating information and incredible characters, it’s also original, colorful, and irresistibly charming. I think I had almost as much fun reading about Fairchild’s adventures as he had living them.”—Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of Hero of the Empire
 
“Daniel Stone has written an elegant food history, a thrilling tour of a lost world—sometimes glamorous, sometimes dangerous, and always highly entertaining.”—Luke Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Provence, 1970
 
“Daniel Stone spins a fascinating tale of a most unusual explorer. Any American who has ever savored a cashew or a nectarine has David Fairchild to thank. With a sharp eye and a deft touch, Stone has brought to life an intriguing new hero and his Gilded Age adventures around the globe.”—Evan Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Being Nixon
 
“Move over, Anthony Bourdain. Here is a story about a profligate world traveler with a discriminating palate. A delightful tale of science and wanderlust.”—Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of In the Kingdom of Ice

Library Journal

★ 01/01/2018
Stone (editor, National Geographic) takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the life and agricultural successes of David Fairchild (1869–1954), a botanist whose collecting expeditions introduced avocados, Egyptian cotton, and dozens of other new foods to American farms in the first decades of the 20th century. Stone follows Fairchild's initial forays into plant collecting with a wealthy patron aboard luxury vessels as well as his career as a Washington bureaucrat heading the Office of Seed and Plant Introduction. Fairchild's extensive correspondence and published writing take center stage as Stone uses the sources to paint a vivid picture of a man with an insatiable curiosity and clear sense of purpose, traveling during a time when colonialism and nationalism created barriers to safe travel and effective cross-cultural communication. The narrative charts the rise and gradual fall of American interest in plant introduction, which eventually prompted Fairchild to leave public service in the years after World War I, and makes a convincing argument that his contributions to botany and agriculture were substantial and lasting. VERDICT This fascinating read will appeal to those interested in American history and food culture, travel narratives, and agriculture.—Rebecca Brody, Westfield State Univ., MA

MARCH 2018 - AudioFile

Daniel Stone delivers a fast-paced narration of this globe-spanning audiobook about the botanist David Fairchild. The story is delivered as an adventure travelogue of Fairchild’s exploits around the globe, which brought mangoes, cashews, and avocados to the American farm and table. The Kansas-bred Fairchild was both smart and lucky. He had a chance encounter with millionaire traveler Barbour Lathrop, which evolved into a patronage and friendship that allowed the intrepid botanist to travel the world collecting cuttings and bringing back the remarkable seeds for foods that changed Americans bland nineteenth-century diet. Stone’s engaging reading style suits his subject well. Sadly, Fairchild ends up an embattled bureaucrat, but the excitement of his discoveries leaves the listener satisfied. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Review

2017-12-19
The story of an intrepid botanist who exposed America to myriad exotic plants and food crops.While conducting research for an article, National Geographic staff writer Stone stumbled on a map showing the origins of popular foods that became domesticated in America. This discovery, as well as the author's lifelong fascination with tropical fruit, spurred a great exploration for perennially curious American botanist David Fairchild (1869-1954), who scoured the planet foraging for new foods and plants with which to enrich and tantalize American palates. Employing dogged research and close scrutiny of his subject's letters, rough drafts, and "ponderings on the backs of envelopes and napkins," the author delves into many different aspects of Fairchild's life. These include his seafaring adventures visiting more than 50 countries, his insatiable hunger to uncover new produce varieties and promote homeland agricultural development, and the harsh criticism his work continually garnered. Fairchild's assignments as a junior scientist with the then budget-challenged Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., and encouragement from world-traveling philanthropist Barbour Lathrop whetted his wanderlust for far-flung destinations, where he came across such exotic plants as the Hass avocado in Chile, seedless grapes in Padua, cherry blossoms in Japan, and potent hop plant flowers in Bohemia, which pointed to significant beer-crafting potential. Stone also provides details of the political struggle Fairchild faced. While his work enriched the agricultural climate of the country, congressional opponents felt that his methodical importation of new, farm-sourced, organic plant and produce varieties would compromise and even jeopardize native botanical species. Narrated in vividly realized, richly descriptive text with accompanying photographs, Stone's biography reanimates the legacy of an important contributor to the botanical diversity of America. Indeed, Fairchild's agricultural discoveries revolutionized the formerly bland eating habits of Americans and helped establish the country's own culinary identity.An erudite and entertaining historical biography of a food pioneer with particular interest for gastronomes and agriculture enthusiasts.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171819194
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	02/20/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Food Explorer"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Daniel Stone.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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