The Fish That Ate the Whale

The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King (2012) by Rich Cohen. Samuel Zemurray arrived in America in 1891, and rose quickly through the banana-importing world to become America's banana king. Along the way he became an example of the best and worst of America: Land of opportunity, but also meddler in foreign governments for profit's sake. This book sounds like it should be very interesting, but oddly, a lot is lost in the telling. Cohen is a competent writer, but he fails to breath life into his subject the way the really great writers have been able to do. I read the book with little pleasure, and was not displeased when I had finished it. It's a good book, but not a great book. If you happen to have a fascination with bananas, you will love it. Grade: B