Publication
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1975), 176 p.
Original publication date
1966 (as an article in The New Yorker)
1967 (as book -- Farrar Straus and Giroux)
Collections
Subjects
Description
A classic of reportage,Oranges was first conceived as a short magazine article about oranges and orange juice, but the author kept encountering so much irresistible information that he eventually found that he had in fact written a book. It contains sketches of orange growers, orange botanists, orange pickers, orange packers, early settlers on Florida's Indian River, the first orange barons, modern concentrate makers, and a fascinating profile of Ben Hill Griffin of Frostproof, Florida who may be the last of the individual orange barons. McPhee's astonishing book has an almost narrative progression, is immensely readable, and is frequently amusing. Louis XIV hung tapestries of oranges in the halls of Versailles, because oranges and orange trees were the symbols of his nature and his reign. This book, in a sense, is a tapestry of oranges, too--with elements in it that range from the great orangeries of European monarchs to a custom of people in the modern Caribbean who split oranges and clean floors with them,one half in each hand.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member dichosa
Written in the '70's, things have changed in Florida and in the orange market, but McPhee's writing is timeless. This book, like many of his works, is a slender volume. I was able to read it in just a couple afternoons. With his lively descriptions and 'first person' style, make it a smooth read
Show More
and you learn a thing or two to boot! Show Less
LibraryThing member mrminjares
Like a long encyclopedic entry this book tells you everything there is to know about oranges...where they come from, how they settled in the US, the history of the Florida orange growers, how to grow the best oranges..etc, etc. I want to eat more varieties of oranges and grow my own tree now.
LibraryThing member klburnside
Originally intended to be a magazine story, Oranges is a short book all about oranges. McPhee meets with growers, pickers, scientists, and others to bring the reader a fascinating picture of oranges and the industries surrounding them.
I liked the beginning and the end of the book the best. The
The book was written in 1967, so the information was quite dated. I'm sure the modern food industry has found many more ways to manipulate the orange and its juice and make use of its chemical components. I would love to read an updated version. Parts of the book were definitely four star material, but I had to settle with three.
I liked the beginning and the end of the book the best. The
Show More
middle dealt mostly with the cultural history of the orange and the history of orange groves in Florida, neither of which were particularly interesting to me. Other parts of the book were much more fascinating. McPhee explores the history and production of orange juice concentrate, growing and grafting techniques, and the expansion of the orange industry. At one point, one of McPhee's interviewee comments, "We are growing chemicals now, not oranges," as he relates that many of the oranges were being used to make artificial flavorings, cattle feed, and chemicals used in fighting forest fires. The book was written in 1967, so the information was quite dated. I'm sure the modern food industry has found many more ways to manipulate the orange and its juice and make use of its chemical components. I would love to read an updated version. Parts of the book were definitely four star material, but I had to settle with three.
Show Less
LibraryThing member CarrieWuj
Short and sweet. Not sure I knew what I was getting when I picked this up - but it was excellent nonfiction on the history of oranges and orange products, especially in the US. Published in 1967, the book is dated by now in terms of technology used to produce and harvest oranges, as well as the all
Show More
male leadership in the orange industry. My actual book copy was that old, and it was fun to have an anachronism in form and content in my hands. I love a deeper look at average objects and this account fulfilled that in McPhee's capable prose. Oranges have their origin in southeast Asia and spread with the Age of Exploration, coming our to our hemisphere with Columbus and to our country with Ponce DeLeon. They have been symbols of fertility, prosperity and royalty, have forestalled wars and cemented treaties. They have been "mistaken" as apples in various writings, due to the lack of imagination in the Latin language. Those who study them are pomologists and there is much to study from their breeding to the best way to extract their juices and how best to use all the by-products. While now we can get them anywhere, any time, I can remember in childhood the big box of FL oranges that would arrive as a Christmas gift and it was like sunshine arriving on the doorstep. The FL agriculture scene which is mostly oranges and citrus and cattle takes up the vast interior of the state, above the Everglades and away from the coasts. According to this book, it is full of characters and transplants and millions of acres of orange groves which are their own mini-worlds. A great combo of sweeping historical arcs, fun facts, and science, this "tapestry of oranges" was a worthwhile read. Show Less
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
Yup, everything you ever wanted to know about oranges and growing them and turning them into juice...Surprisingly interesting and marvelously readable as always with McPhee. I suspect the orange-growing and concentrate-making industries may have changed in big ways since the mid-60's when this was
Show More
written, but the best part of this book is the underlying science. That's fascinating even if the technologies and marketing practices have changed. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780374512972
Physical description
176 p.; 5.65 inches
Pages
176