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The food explorer : the true adventures of the globe-trotting botanist who transformed what America eats / Daniel Stone.

by Stone, Daniel (Daniel Evan), 1985-

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Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018.

Fairchild, David, 1869-1954.

Botanists -- United States -- Biography.

Food habits -- United States -- History.

Food crops -- United States -- History.

9781101990582 (hc.)

Alternate title:

True adventures of the globe-trotting botanist who transformed what America eats

xvi, 397 p. : ill., some color, map ; 24 cm.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 329-385) and index.

Chance encounters -- One thousand dollars -- East of Suez -- Guest and protégé -- The listless Pacific -- One cause, one country -- Crossing countries -- Alligator pears -- Grapes of a Venetian monk -- Citrus maxima -- Lemons, leaves, and the dawn of new light -- On the banks of the Tigris -- Bell's grand plan -- A brain awhirl -- Cherry trees with no cherries -- The urge to walk -- Outlaws, brigands, and murderers -- Fly the coop -- Sad and mad and so utterly unnecessary -- Wij zijn Amerikanen -- Epilogue.

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

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