The Orchid Thief

Author: Susan Orlean
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307795292
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii—a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean—and the reader—will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion. In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for The Orchid Thief “Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.”—The New York Times Book Review “Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.”—Los Angeles Times “Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.”—The Washington Post Book World “Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.”—Boston Sunday Globe “A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”—The Wall Street Journal

The Book of Orchids

Author: Mark W. Chase
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022622452X
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 657

Book Description
One of every seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid. Some are stunningly over the top; others almost inconspicuous. The Orchidaceae is the second most widely geographically distributed family, after the grasses, yet remains one of the least understood. This book will profile 600 species, representing the remarkable and unexpected diversity and complexity in the taxonomy and phylogeny of these beguiling plants, and the extraordinary means they have evolved in order to ensure the attraction of pollinators. Each species entry includes life-size photographs to capture botanical detail, as well as information on distribution, peak flowering period, and unique attributes--both natural and cultural. The result is a work which will attract and allure, much as the orchids themselves do.

The Orchid and the Dandelion

Author: W. Thomas Boyce MD
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 1101946571
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
"Based on groundbreaking research that has the power to change the lives of countless children--and the adults who love them." --Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts. A book that offers hope and a pathway to success for parents, teachers, psychologists, and child development experts coping with difficult children. In Tom Boyce's extraordinary new book, he explores the "dandelion" child (hardy, resilient, healthy), able to survive and flourish under most circumstances, and the "orchid" child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile), who, given the right support, can thrive as much as, if not more than, other children. Boyce writes of his pathfinding research as a developmental pediatrician working with troubled children in child-development research for almost four decades, and explores his major discovery that reveals how genetic make-up and environment shape behavior. He writes that certain variant genes can increase a person's susceptibility to depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and antisocial, sociopathic, or violent behaviors. But rather than seeing this "risk" gene as a liability, Boyce, through his daring research, has recast the way we think of human frailty, and has shown that while these "bad" genes can create problems, they can also, in the right setting and the right environment, result in producing children who not only do better than before but far exceed their peers. Orchid children, Boyce makes clear, are not failed dandelions; they are a different category of child, with special sensitivities and strengths, and need to be nurtured and taught in special ways. And in The Orchid and the Dandelion, Boyce shows us how to understand these children for their unique sensibilities, their considerable challenges, their remarkable gifts.

Darwin's Orchids

Author: Retha Edens-Meier
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226044912
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 440

Book Description
A quorum of scientists offer reviews and results to celebrate the 150th anniversary of 'On The Various Contrivances By Which British And Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised By Insects, And On The Good Effects Of Intercrossing' (1862). Authors of the first ten chapters follow research on the pollination and breeding systems of the same orchid lineages that interested Darwin, including temperate and tropical species. Authors on the last two chapters provide information on the floral attractants and flowering systems of orchids using protocols and technologies unavailable during Darwin's lifetime.

Understanding Orchids

Author: William Cullina
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618263264
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Book Description
Featuring more than 200 color photographs, "Understanding Orchids" provides readers with easy-to-follow instructions for the orchids they would like to grow.

Orchid

Author: Jim Endersby
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022642703X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Book Description
The prize-winning history of the orchid: “an engaging and enlightening account of one of the Earth's most mythologized botanical wonders” (Richard Conniff, author of House of Lost Worlds). At once delicate, exotic, and elegant, orchids are beloved for their singular, instantly recognizable beauty. Found in nearly every climate, the many species of orchid have had varying forms of significance in countless cultures over time. Following the orchid’s journey from Ancient Greek medicine to twentieth century detective novels, science historian Jim Endersby explores the flower’s four recurring themes: science, empire, sex, and death. Orchids were a symbol of the exotic riches sought by 19th century Europeans in their plans for colonization. They became subjects of scientific scrutiny for Charles Darwin, who investigated their methods of cross-pollination. As Endersby shows, orchids—perhaps because of their extraordinarily diverse colors, shapes, and sizes—have also bloomed repeatedly in films, novels, plays, and poems, from Shakespeare to science fiction. Featuring many gorgeous illustrations from the collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Orchid: A Cultural History was awarded the Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize by the History of Science Society. It is an enchanting tale not only for gardeners and plant collectors, but anyone curious about the flower’s obsessive hold on the imagination in history, cinema, literature, and more.

How Orchids Rebloom

Author: Chuck McClung
Publisher: Blurb
ISBN: 9780368439155
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
What if getting your orchids to rebloom was as easy as following a simple instruction manual?! IT IS THAT EASY! There are three easy steps to happy reblooming orchids: 1) If you know what kind of orchids you have, 2) and you know what the native habitat is like for that orchid, 3) and you reproduce the conditions found your orchid's native habitat, YOUR ORCHID MUST REBLOOM!!!

Ortho's All about Orchids

Author: Elvin McDonald
Publisher: Meredith Books
ISBN: 9780897214247
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 102

Book Description
Covers selection, care, and propagation of easy care and new orchid varieties.

Orchids of Europe

Author: Bo Mossberg
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780008210694
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A beautiful, richly illustrated book on Europe's wild orchids - perhaps the most enigmatic and popular group in the botanical world. The orchid family (Orchidaceae), numbering some 25,000 species, is one of the world's two largest families of flowering plants. Whilst the vast majority of orchids are found in the wet tropics, Europe accommodates c.130 native orchid species which are equally arranged in dense inflorescences of great beauty. Furthermore, the adaptations encountered in some of the European species are just as fascinating as those of their tropical relatives. This book provides an introduction to the native orchids of Europe. It features four sections: 'Structure and systematics', 'Orchids and the environment', 'Orchid portraits' and 'How to learn more'. This part constitutes the bulk of the book, presenting individual genera in a sequence which reflects their most likely evolutionary relationships. Each genus is introduced by one page of text and illustrated by one or more colour plates on the following pages. The text gives information on how to recognise the genus, where it is distributed, and the estimated number of species it contains - alongside information on the range of environmental requirements and flowering times in the European species. Depending on the genus, additional information may be found on topics such as pollination biology, associated fungi, evolutionary relationships or systematic problems. Beautiful watercolour artwork accompanies the text, making this an indispensable gift for anyone interested in the natural world. Not only is it a useful field guide, it is also a beautiful art book.

Complete Guide to Orchids

Author: Ortho Books
Publisher: Meredith Books
ISBN: 9780897215060
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 236

Book Description
Slecting, growing and displaying Orchids. Endorsed by the American Orchid Society.