Product Description

Before 1880 most Americans had never seen a banana, but by 1910 bananas were so common that the streets were littered with their peels. In this wide-ranging history of the most popular and least expensive fruit in the United States, Virginia Scott Jenkins covers every aspect of the banana in American culture, from its beginnings as luxury food to its reputation as the "poor man's" fruit to its role today as a healthy, easy-to-carry snack. Bananas provides an insightful look at a fruit with appeal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #865459 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-30
• Released on: 2004-08-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 228 pages

From Publishers Weekly
"A study of the banana at first may appear frivolous," writes Jenkins (The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession). But "the use of everyday food can offer a window into the culture of the United States." Drawing from an unusual assemblage of evidence, Jenkins (a scholar-in-residence at the Chesapeake Maritime Museum) argues that Americans' ideas about the fruitAhow to store it, how to cook it, what it's good forAwere invented, over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, by advertisers and growers. And their campaigns worked like a charm: before 1880, most Americans hadn't even seen a banana; by 1910, they were consuming vast quantities of the fruit. How did this happen? Introduced to wealthy Americans in the second half of the 19th century as a delicacy, Jenkins argues, the banana was quickly seized upon by businessmen who understood that they could make a huge profit importing fruit. So they built large banana plantations in Central America and the Caribbean; soon, they had gained economic and political power in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Mexico. Protected by American troops, U.S. corporations like United Fruit helped set up puppet dictatorships in countries wherever they had plantations (hence the term "banana republic"). Jenkins capably takes readers through this history, then describes how American businesses orchestrated popular demand for the fruitAby keeping the price low and waging a relentless advertising campaign that promoted the banana as delicious and healthful, either raw or cooked. Although the book includes a wealth of trivia on banana jokes, songs and recipes, it is really Jenkins's historical overview of the banana's production, marketing and transporting that makes this book a strong contribution to the growing field of food studies. B&w photos. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Bananas is the latest in a line of social histories of different foodstuffs. Jenkins, a scholar-in-residence at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and author of The Lawn: An American Obsession, discusses the influence of bananas on American foreign policy, humor, and popular music (from Carmen Miranda to the Chiquita Banana Song). She does bring up some interesting points, e.g., that American banana companies were responsible for much of the infrastructure built in Central America and that the Banana Festival in Fulton, KY, was actually a weapon against communism. But Jenkins's study bogs down when she discusses the marketing strategies of the banana companies. Comprising the bulk of the book, this repetitious discussion makes more of the material than is warranted. If your library includes Mark Kurlansky's Cod (LJ 7/97), Betty Fussell's The Story of Corn (LJ 7/92), and Larry Zuckerman's Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World (Faber & Faber, 1998), this might be a worthy complement; otherwise, it is not essential.DTom Vincent, P.L. of Charlotte & Mecklenburg Cty., NC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Although the study of the banana at first may appear frivolous, Jenkins insists that the social history of food can offer a window on culture, and her focus here is the nineteenth- and twentieth-century U.S. By 1999 annual consumption of the fruit had risen to 75 bananas per person, more than any other fruit. The first chapter traces the introduction of bananas into the U.S., and the second chapter discusses the development of the major U.S. banana-importing companies, the original multinational corporations. The author explores the growth of the nation's modern transportation system, using the banana as an example of a perishable commodity that was difficult to move from producer to consumer. She discusses marketing, public health and sanitation issues, and consumption of the fruit (banana splits, banana bread, and bananas on our breakfast cereal, for instance). A chapter on celebrating bananas is devoted to the twin cities of Fulton, Kentucky, and South Fulton, Tennessee, where a weeklong International Banana Festival is held each year. A final chapter looks at the fruit's place in American culture. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Bananas in Repetition
For those fascinated with bananas, this book offers an insight into the toothsome tropical tube. Aside from some cautions which I will discuss further on, the book is full of useful and little-known information, like the coinage of the term "Banana Republic"; the histories of two large companies, Chiquita and Dole; and the change in ideas concerning the banana, from tropical delicacy to poor-man's fruit. Sadly, as this is a history of the banana in America, there is little written as to its origins in Asia and its earlier uses. Consider Bananas the story of how an inported fruit became a symbol of the United States.

I had some complaints about the book, however. The author put the chapters together like essays: each one does not have to be read before the other, as a lot of the information is repeated to illustrate a slightly different example in other contexts. This approach lends tedious reading; I could not help but think the book could be much shorter than its tight 171 pages. Moreover, some of the research is obviously low-key: she mentions banana-flavoured ice cream in stores today, but only makes use of her local groceries (Safeway & Giant) as examples. It leads me to wonder what else is written in her book as a general fact based on a small sample. The author also spends much of the text quoting verbatim recipes, sayings, and articles that are either unnecessary or redundant.

Nevertheless, for those interested in the study of food, this book is not to be passed over, despite my rating of two stars of five. There are a few gems-- especially in the first few chapters-- that are of definite interest.

fresh topic: spotted layout
i will start off saying that this was a really interesting book and a must for people that like bananas or fruit history in general. she clearly loves the topic she was writing about and has done extenseive research. i found the book, a prodigy in the fruit book arena, very informative and interesting. black and white photos and pictures of advertisements and banana songs in the back enhance the book greatly and add a more fun feeling. now, with that said, there really needed to be more work done on this book. Jenkins is very repetetive throught the book and certain topics (like banana shipping) are found scattered throughout the book even though there is a banana shipping chapter. some new facts and information were brought up in chapters after their designated chapter and that made note taking fairly unorganized. this book needed to pass through several editors before it was released. better orginization would have made it much better. Very interesting, but certain parts of the book drove me crazy because of the lack of organization and reading the same lines (banana has gone from a luxury fruit to a poor mans fruit in such a short time) over and over throughout the book. i would give it 2.5 stars, but since i cant, i'll just make it 2.

This IS the History of America...
That might sound a tad weird, but the book, by following the history of the banana, also follows America's history in showing us how the banana created developments in transportation, fed international trade in South America, created the health campaigns within the US, brought about marketing designed to create a demand for bananas and the increase in the public's interest in the tropics. The banana was also a weapon against communism and built us an American Empire. BOW BEFORE THE MIGHTY BANANA!