Pineapple Culture: A History of the Tropical and Temperate Zones / Edition 1

by Gary Y. Okihiro

Overview

Plucked from tropical America, the pineapple was brought to European tables and hothouses before it was conveyed back to the tropics, where it came to dominate U.S. and world markets. Pineapple Culture is a dazzling history of the world's tropical and temperate zones told through the pineapple's illustrative career. Following Gary Y. Okihiro's enthusiastically received Island World: A History of Hawaìi and the United States, Pineapple Culture continues to upend conventional ideas about history, space, and time with its provocative vision. At the center of the story is the thoroughly modern tale of Dole's "Hawaiian" pineapple, which, from its island periphery, infiltrated the white, middle-class homes of the continental United States. The transit of the pineapple brilliantly illuminates the history and geography of empires—their creations and accumulations; the circuits of knowledge, capital, labor, goods, and the cultures that characterize them; and their assumed power to name, classify, and rule over alien lands, peoples, and resources.

Editorial Reviews

Choice

Superbly researched and girded by a strong theoretical framework.

Agricultural History

It is certainly a good read.

Natural History

Take a lesson from this wondrous tropical fruit and read on.

Booklist

Seamlessly fusing geography with anthropology, horticulture with international politics, Okihiro draws a comprehensive portrait of how a singular fruit can unite a world.

Canadian Journal Of History - Chana Kraus-Friedberg

Okihiro’s global approach is fascinating.

Natural History

“Okihiro’s narrative is filled with juicy tidbits of pineapple lore.

Booklist

“Seamlessly fusing geography with anthropology, horticulture with international politics, Okihiro draws a comprehensive portrait of how a singular fruit can unite a world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520265905
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	06/02/2009
Series:	California World History Library , #10
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.80(d)