The fish that ate the whale
When Samuel Zemurray arrived in America in 1891, he was tall, gangly, and penniless. When he died in the grandest house in New Orleans sixty-nine years later, he was among the richest, most powerful men in the world. In between, he worked as a fruit peddler, banana hauler, dockside hustler, and plantation owner. He battled and conquered the United Fruit Company, becoming a symbol of the best and worst of the United States: proof America is the land of opportunity, but also a classic example of the corporate pirate who treats foreign nations as the backdrop for his adventures. Starting with nothing but a cart of freckled bananas, he built a sprawling empire of banana cowboys, mercenary soldiers, Honduran peasants, CIA agents, and American statesmen. -- Publisher description.
Stats for nerds
12recommend
19mentions
14people
2013–2024years
84% recommend16% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- The history of the United Fruit Company is covered in detail in the book "The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King". It details how Samuel Zemurray rose from poor fruit peddlar, to one of the most powerful men in the world. It is an interesting read.
- Banana industry basically had America destroying democracies in S America so we could access their resources. United Fruit.
Great book about it The Fish that Ate the Whale.
https://www.amazon.com/Fish-That-Ate-Whale-Americas/dp/12500...
- If you want an additional layer of humor, read The Fish that Ate the Whale. I believe there is still a 'United Fruit' building somewhere in New Orleans.
- The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen.
As a person who hadn't finished a book in years, hadn't felt excited by a book, this reminded me of what it felt like to not be able to put a book down. It is non-fiction but written as a narrative. It was a good mix of history, economics, politics and business. I cannot recommend it enough.
- I can recommend “The Fish that Ate the Whale” [1] — this race against time for bananas is a tale told over many different phases of shipping.
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13166586-the-fish-that-a...
- The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen is a great book about the banana industry and government
