In THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BANANAS, W.O. Lessard writes to fill a void in information available to a small but growing population of the world. One interested in growing bananas as a hobby. The author is an accepted authority on the growing of bananas with twenty five years of growing experience. He is well known throughout the banana industry & is currently employed by a major South American banana company as a growing consultant. The book consists of 120 pages packed with information on history, culture, diseases & cold protection of the banana. There is a compendium consisting of a discussion of 50 varieties of bananas along with 42 color photographs. There are 11 pages of recipes gleaned from many tropical countries describing how to use bananas in every stage of maturity from green to overripe. The book is of top quality in every respect. It is hardbound with a leather cover & a high quality dust cover. It gives all the information a hobby grower needs to grow a small grove of bananas in the American sunbelt or a greenhouse. The cost of the book is $35.00. Contact person is William Lessard, 19201 SW 248 St., Homestead, FL 33031. (305) 247-0397.

Winner of the 2012 Ka Palapala Po'okela Award for Excellence in Natural Science The World of Bananas in Hawai'i: Then and Now--unique, comprehensive, colorful, authoritative, readable and with over 1,900 color illustrations--culminates nine years of exhaustive library research coupled with painstaking field and agricultural investigations in Hawai'i and other Pacific islands. It is the first book about bananas in Hawai'i and a major contribution to Hawaiian culture. It is also the first attempt to trace banana/plantain evolution within the Pacific. Truly a "banana bible," it is written in highly accessible prose embracing a broad array of topics. Lavishly illustrated, it covers virtually every edible and inedible banana in Hawai'i, Polynesian introduced and international, including the spectacular ornamentals and fe'i. The World of Bananas reflects a deep respect for Hawaiian oral history and esteemed post-contact literature, reviving long-forgotten traditional foods, chants, crafts, and everyday clothing woven from bananas. As a result of Angela Kepler's 30-year Pacific-wide ecological research, readers will encounter original ideas (e.g., how migrant seabirds likely guided Marquesan seafarers to colonize Hawai'i) and delight in the multihued tapestry of true-to-life banana tales from the nebulous dawn of Hawaiian history to the present (e.g., the rediscovery of legendary banana groves). The authors shed fascinating new light on Hawai'i's little-known "pregnant" banana, mai'a hāpai, and resurrect a long-forgotten minor goddess, Hina-'ea, whose curative mai'a lele banana once healed vitamin A deficiencies in children. Interweaving extensive original research with judicious gleanings from a tiny worldwide network of banana specialists, this book provides new, dependable, and pictorial descriptions for 140 living varieties and 22 kinship groups, illustrated keys separating similar cultivars, hundreds of name synonyms, and information on pesticide-free care and maintenance, nutritional deficiencies, and troubleshooting pests/diseases. The mouth-watering recipe chapter includes savory dishes such as banana mayonnaise and meat-plantain casseroles.

Bananas, the most frequently consumed fresh fruit in the United States, have been linked to Miss Chiquita and Carmen Miranda, "banana republics," and Banana Republic clothing stores—everything from exotic kitsch, to Third World dictatorships, to middle-class fashion. But how did the rise in banana consumption in the United States affect the banana-growing regions of Central America? In this lively, interdisciplinary study, John Soluri integrates agroecology, anthropology, political economy, and history to trace the symbiotic growth of the export banana industry in Honduras and the consumer mass market in the United States. Beginning in the 1870s when bananas first appeared in the U.S. marketplace, Soluri examines the tensions between the small-scale growers, who dominated the trade in the early years, and the shippers. He then shows how rising demand led to changes in production that resulted in the formation of major agribusinesses, spawned international migrations, and transformed great swaths of the Honduran environment into monocultures susceptible to plant disease epidemics that in turn changed Central American livelihoods. Soluri also looks at labor practices and workers' lives, changing gender roles on the banana plantations, the effects of pesticides on the Honduran environment and people, and the mass marketing of bananas to consumers in the United States. His multifaceted account of a century of banana production and consumption adds an important chapter to the history of Honduras, as well as to the larger history of globalization and its effects on rural peoples, local economies, and biodiversity.

"Award-winning journalist Dan Koeppel navigates across the planet and throughout history, telling the cultural and scientific story of the world's most ubiquitous fruit"--Page 4 of cover.

Finding opportunities for innovation on the path between farmer and table. Even if we think we know a lot about good and healthy food—even if we buy organic, believe in slow food, and read Eater—we probably don't know much about how food gets to the table. What happens between the farm and the kitchen? Why are all avocados from Mexico? Why does a restaurant in Maine order lamb from New Zealand? In Food Routes, Robyn Metcalfe explores an often-overlooked aspect of the global food system: how food moves from producer to consumer. She finds that the food supply chain is adapting to our increasingly complex demands for both personalization and convenience—but, she says, it won't be an easy ride. Networked, digital tools will improve the food system but will also challenge our relationship to food in anxiety-provoking ways. It might not be easy to transfer our affections from verdant fields of organic tomatoes to high-rise greenhouses tended by robots. And yet, argues Metcalfe—a cautious technology optimist—technological advances offer opportunities for innovations that can get better food to more people in an increasingly urbanized world. Metcalfe follows a slice of New York pizza and a club sandwich through the food supply chain; considers local foods, global foods, and food deserts; investigates the processing, packaging, and storage of food; explores the transportation networks that connect farm to plate; and explains how food can be tracked using sensors and the Internet of Things. Future food may be engineered, networked, and nearly independent of crops grown in fields. New technologies can make the food system more efficient—but at what cost to our traditionally close relationship with food?

'It is terrific. I can't remember the last time I read a book that was more fascinating and useful and enjoyable all at the same time.' Bill Bryson How Bad Are Bananas? was a groundbreaking book when first published in 2009, when most of us were hearing the phrase 'carbon footprint' for the first time. Mike Berners-Lee set out to inform us what was important (aviation, heating, swimming pools) and what made very little difference (bananas, naturally packaged, are good!). This new edition updates all the figures (from data centres to hosting a World Cup) and introduces many areas that have become a regular part of modern life - Twitter, the Cloud, Bitcoin, electric bikes and cars, even space tourism. Berners-Lee runs a considered eye over each area and gives us the figures to manage and reduce our own carbon footprint, as well as to lobby our companies, businesses and government. His findings, presented in clear and even entertaining prose, are often surprising. And they are essential if we are to address climate change.

Even though Lion is hungry under a banana tree, Little Monkey can't resist going after a banana in the tree. This wonderfully illustrated Readers' Theatre book will build the reader's confidence and fluency.

The people and objects of a town panic and flee when they see a Tyrannosaurus rex approaching, but they discover that only the bananas have anything to fear from this fruit-eating dinosaur. Full color.

The hilarious tale of what happened to a boy who ate too many bananas.

Would you like to give your garden a tropical flavor? Banana plants will give your garden the much needed curb appeal. Banana plants are grown the world over and even a beginner gardener can easily plant and tend to them. Banana plants while often referred to as trees are considered a giant herb. In this book you will learn The ideal soil for banana plants The moister and drainage needed to keep your banana plants healthy. Proper transplanting and initial cultivation of your banana plant. How to properly prepare the soil for your new banana plants.