Showing The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean

Paperback. Pub Date: 2000. Pages: 288 in Publisher: Random House UK Susan Orlean first met John Laroche when the interests of the administration of Florida for the NEW YORKER about his arrest for stealing rare ghost orchids The from a nature reserve. Fascinated both by Laroche and to the write the world she uncovered of orchid collectors and growers. she stayed on. to write this magical exploration of obsession and the strange world both of the obsessives and of Florida. as haunting and weird in its way as the Savannah of MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL. The world of the orchid hunters. eeders and showmen. their rivalries. vendettas and crimes. smuggling. thefts and worse provide the backdrop to a fascinating exploration of one of the byways of human nature. the obsessive world of the collector. and the haunting beauty of the flowers themselves.