The Orchid Thief

Orchidelirium is the name the Victorians gave to the flower madness that is for botanical collectors the equivalent of gold fever. Wealthy orchid fanatics of that era sent explorers (heavily armed, more to protect themselves against other orchid seekers than against hostile natives or wild animals) to unmapped territories in search of new varieties of Cattleya and Paphiopedilum. As knowledge of the family Orchidaceae grew to encompass the currently more than 60,000 species and over 100,000 hybrids, orchidelirium might have been expected to go the way of Dutch tulip mania. Yet, as journalist Susan Orlean found out, there still exists a vein of orchid madness strong enough to inspire larceny among collectors.

The Orchid Thief centres on south Florida and John Laroche, a quixotic, charismatic schemer once convicted of attempting to take endangered orchids from the Fakahatchee swamp, a state preserve. Laroche, a horticultural consultant who once ran an extensive nursery for the Seminole tribe, dreams of making a fortune for the Seminoles and himself by cloning the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii. Laroche sums up the obsession that drives him and so many others:

I really have to watch myself, especially around plants. Even now, just being here, I still get that collector feeling. You know what I mean. I'll see something and then suddenly I get that feeling. It's like I can't just have something--I have to have it and learn about it and grow it and sell it and master it and have a million of it.

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Rubbish - Rated
I'm compelled to write a review for this book because I find it unbelievable that it hasn't received anything less than 4 stars. The book completely lacks focus, it's rambling becomes so tiresome I found it difficult to finish. I found John Laroche extremely interesting, I wanted to understand him and his compulsive obsessions, but since there are only about 1 and a half chapters dedicated to him, there wasn't a chance. Instead the book dedicated 150 pages to repetitive (and dull and chronologically jumbled) descriptions of orchid hunters from the past and the extremes they'd go to obtain them, which made nothing more than one obvious point. Oh not to mention Orleans preoccupation with herself. I've seen it written a few times that the failure lies in the fact that the subject couldn't carry a 200 page book, however I fail to agree. In more experienced hands I'm sure this could have been a fantastic book. Next time Orlean turns her hand to writing a novel maybe she could call Donald Kaufman for some tips.

Flowers for the lady - Rated
The Dutch once endured a consuming mania for tulips. Intense competition for bulbs led to bankruptcies resulting from wild speculations, families were disrupted, and fortunes were won and lost. While "tulipmania" subsided, a new mania has arisen. More sedate yet more widespread, orchid collecting is a multimillion dollar business. Orlean portrays the passions involved in orchid collection and breeding in this fascinating work. Unlike tulips, which are limited in species, orchids encompass thousands, with the number of natural species likely doubled by breeder hybridization. Orlean's account depicts the history and business of orchid collecting, identifying and commercialisation. Orchidmania today is only slightly less intense than that of the 17th Century Dutch Republic. Orlean shows that collectors and breeders are highly competitive, aggressive, personalities, ready to engage in whatever is deemed necessary to achieve their goals.

Orlean's fascination with orchids began with the arrest and trial of John Laroche, collector, blackmarketeer and general eccentric. Laroche becomes her pivot point for relating the history of orchid growing and collecting in Florida. She takes us along on her visits to breeders and collectors. She pursues them into Florida swamps and to orchid shows. Everywhere she explores and everyone she meets evokes the same feelings - vigorous competition, unbridled ambition, deep suspicion and a continual skirting with the law. Through all her encounters, Laroche hovers like a malign spirit, sometimes guiding her, sometimes taunting her. She seems captivated by him, his eccentricities simultaneously attracting and repelling her.

This highly personalised account is a compelling read, with Orlean's feelings candidly expressed. The persistence of Laroche becomes, finally, almost tedious. The fascinating history of the orchid industry and the other figures she encounters might easily have displaced him as the central character. His erratic life, with swift changes from one interest to another, might interest a psychologist. Here, LaRoche almost becomes a non sequitor. He might have been dispensed with in a chapter. Orlean, almost unwillingly, remains bound to follow his fate, to whatever end. Her attentions meet indifferent response. They're nearly unrequited. Still, he manages to lead her through the swamps in her new-found quest to locate a particular orchid in the wild. It's not a pleasant journey, but one which she recounts in vivid prose.

Some readers will know this book was the subject of the film, "Adaptation". The film is the story of the story and, in many respects, is a better portrayal than Orlean achieves. There is far too much well-presented information here lacking in the film. That redeems whatever faults Orlean may exhibit in this account. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

An absolute must read!!! - Rated
I decided to read this book after watching the film "Adaptation" on DVD and I am very glad I did. Orlean reports on a world of deception and obsession whilst shadowing one of Americas' most notorious Orchid collectors. Written in what is very much a reportage style this book I believe has widespread appeal and is well worth checking out.

Very funny and surprisingly readable - Rated
Essentially a portrait of John Larouche, orchid hunter and thief extraordinaire, as well as (surprisingly) supporting the conservation movement, this laconically humorous tale takes us into the depths of the Everglades, the forests of the Far East and the hot-houses of the rich, famous and crooked.
There are some strange asides, that illustrate the type of enigmatic person who goes in for the underworld orchid trade; tales of frog poachers, happy in their slimy occupation; capsicum and bromeliad growers who dump the whole crop in a fit of pique; collectors who also spray-paint pigeons' tails.

In all, this reads more like a novel than an investigation into the illegal orchid trade, but loses no credibility for that, rather, it lends a more accessible quality to the book than it would otherwise have.
A very funny, worthwhile read.*****.

Only read this if you can afford to buy an orchid afterwards - Rated
If you like plants then I think you will like this book..... Why the uncertainty? ..... I am a self confessed plant-nut and thought the book was great ..... but maybe the less botanically minded might be less keen? The author, a journalist by profession, takes you straight to Florida! You are there with her ..... whether wading waist-deep in the dark and dank Everglades or, freshly showered, visiting an over-blown floral show in suburban Miami. From greenhouse to alligator wrestling, from courthouse to swamp you accompany the author as she tries to understand the book's central character - a compulsive orchid collector. I have read it twice and I know I will return to it. I hope you enjoy it too! (P.S. It makes an excellent companion read to "Orchid Fever" by Eric Hansen) And don't say I didn't warn you when you find yourself buying an orchid ..... or two ..... or three .....