Rating: 
Summary: Full of Juice
Review: Back around 500 BCE the sage Confucius wrote the first essay on "Oranges". In 1966 CE John McPhee wrote the essay that gives us the 'rest of the story'. There is something here about the orange juice industry, something about the history of oranges, a little bit about their botany, and a lot about the women and men that grow them. Above all else, McPhee gives us all of this in an entertaining and spellbinding way.From migrant orange pickers in Florida to Nostradamus, from the Countess Mathilda of Wurttemberg ("if you love me, bring me oranges") to Ponce de Leon (who probably introduced the orange to Florida), we get the stories of the people of the orange. There is even an explanation of the origin of the William Tell legend, probably based in the 'Pomeranzschiessen', an 15th century annual 'Orange Shoot' in the Alpine area of Breslau. Take a bite out McPhee's "Oranges", you'll love the taste. Don't forget to wear a napkin, because its juicy.
Rating:
Summary: Full of Juice
Review: Back around 500 BCE the sage Confucius wrote the first essay on "Oranges". In 1966 CE John McPhee wrote the essay that gives us the 'rest of the story'. There is something here about the orange juice industry, something about the history of oranges, a little bit about their botany, and a lot about the women and men that grow them. Above all else, McPhee gives us all of this in an entertaining and spellbinding way. From migrant orange pickers in Florida to Nostradamus, from the Countess Mathilda of Wurttemberg ("if you love me, bring me oranges") to Ponce de Leon (who probably introduced the orange to Florida), we get the stories of the people of the orange. There is even an explanation of the origin of the William Tell legend, probably based in the 'Pomeranzschiessen', an 15th century annual 'Orange Shoot' in the Alpine area of Breslau. Take a bite out McPhee's "Oranges", you'll love the taste. Don't forget to wear a napkin, because its juicy.
Rating:
Summary: Pulp non-fiction (well maybe) by John McPhee.
Review: Be sure to take advantage of Amazons Inside function to see how good this book can be.
John McPhee, born and raised in Princeton, once again intrigues us with his tales of "citrus." He took what was supposed to be an article on oranges and expanded it into a book. He covers everything you want to know and then some. Under history he will remind you not to let any females sit in you tree. Some of the subjects are history, how to grow, and how to market oranges. He touches on grapefruit also. .
Rating:
Summary: Good & good for you
Review: Every time someone asks me about John McPhee (I am, I admit a total fan) I find myself saying "Look, Here is a guy who can take a subject like, say ORANGES, and make it fascinating." This is the book where he does just that. I gather that ORANGES started out as a short magazine piece & like so many of McPhee's books became an obsession. Here we can get the history, the ecology, the landscape of orange groves along with discussions of the effects of oranges and orange growing on both the culture and the surroundings, all in McPhee's eminently readable prose. This is a fast read about a subject that you probably haven't though much about, but you will walk away from this book not only better informed about the fruit but also taken with the infinite possibility of the wonder that can be found in what seem to be every-day things.
Rating:
Summary: Good & good for you
Review: Every time someone asks me about John McPhee (I am, I admit a total fan) I find myself saying "Look, Here is a guy who can take a subject like, say ORANGES, and make it fascinating." This is the book where he does just that. I gather that ORANGES started out as a short magazine piece & like so many of McPhee's books became an obsession. Here we can get the history, the ecology, the landscape of orange groves along with discussions of the effects of oranges and orange growing on both the culture and the surroundings, all in McPhee's eminently readable prose. This is a fast read about a subject that you probably haven't though much about, but you will walk away from this book not only better informed about the fruit but also taken with the infinite possibility of the wonder that can be found in what seem to be every-day things.
Rating:
Summary: Good & good for you
Review: Every time someone asks me about John McPhee (I am, I admit a total fan) I find myself saying "Look, Here is a guy who can take a subject like, say ORANGES, and make it fascinating." This is the book where he does just that. I gather that ORANGES started out as a short magazine piece & like so many of McPhee's books became an obsession. Here we can get the history, the ecology, the landscape of orange groves along with discussions of the effects of oranges and orange growing on both the culture and the surroundings, all in McPhee's eminently readable prose. This is a fast read about a subject that you probably haven't though much about, but you will walk away from this book not only better informed about the fruit but also taken with the infinite possibility of the wonder that can be found in what seem to be every-day things.
Rating:
Summary: A Book I Find Myself Returning To Again and Again.
Review: I find myself reading this book over and over. Of the several McPhee books I own, this is my favorite. I jsut wish it had more material on blood oranges! I love blood oranges and can relate to McPhee's comments on how they scare some Americans. Every time I eat one in public I get questions about their color, but most people refuse to even try them. Their loss!
The book is fascinating, but dated. Nowadays it is easy to find orange juice that is not from concentrate. That aside, the book is wonderfully informative and will tell you more about oranges than you thought possible. Beautifully written and engaging, I have given it to several of my friends, who love it.
Rating:
Summary: A Book I Find Myself Returning To Again and Again.
Review: I find myself reading this book over and over. Of the several McPhee books I own, this is my favorite. I jsut wish it had more material on blood oranges! I love blood oranges and can relate to McPhee's comments on how they scare some Americans. Every time I eat one in public I get questions about their color, but most people refuse to even try them. Their loss!
The book is fascinating, but dated. Nowadays it is easy to find orange juice that is not from concentrate. That aside, the book is wonderfully informative and will tell you more about oranges than you thought possible. Beautifully written and engaging, I have given it to several of my friends, who love it.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing, full of surprises
Review: I read this book based on the other glowing Amazon recommendations and my past experiences with John McPhee. I got everything I expected, and then some. Like many of his books, McPhee succeeds in distilling somtimes complex--seemingly dry--concepts (tree grafting, juice concentration, etc.) into fascinating subjects. Who would have thought that a book about oranges would be a page-turner?! This is a slim volume (I read it in two sittings), and one worth reading. Indeed, you'll never drink your morning OJ quite the same way agian.
Rating:
Summary: The best darn book about oranges you'll ever read!
Review: I received this book after hearing about it for a few months at my BOOKCROSSING.COM meetup. Two other members were going on and on about how they couldn't put this book about oranges *down*. I snatched it up as soon as they brought a copy to the meeting. I was hooked from the first page! Not only myself but my mom..then sister.. then boyfriend. We had to get mom her own copy! This is a book I'll recommend over and over. A definite "must read".
| 
