A seductive journey into the obsessive, outrageous, and mesmerizing world of orchids.

From the steaming jungles of Borneo to the hallowed hallways of Kew Gardens, from the clandestine orchid nurseries of Europe to the peat bogs of northern Minnesota, here are luscious, sexy flowers, orchid smugglers, fist-fighting botanists, moths with twelve-inch-long tongues, and government officials who raid orchid nurseries with attack dogs and automatic weapons. Strange tales of insect pollinator fidelity, the orchid ice cream makers of eastern Turkey, and man-crushing killer orchids weighing half a ton are blended with stories about a wide range of gentle people whose passion in life is the creation of scented, fragile flowers.

Eric Hansen spent seven years exploring the far corners of the earth -- marveling at flowers of uncommon beauty, studying the history of the orchid trade, and grappling with the vicious, bizarre, and petty world of plant politics that sometimes makes it impossible to protect endangered species. Hansen brings to life the colorful flowers and the even more colorful people who are attracted to them, as he illuminates a funny, weird, and poignant world of horticultural passion and pathos.

Related Silk Orchid Items:

• Wild Orchids of Texas (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)
• Orchids: A Care Manual
• Orchids for Every Home
• 100 Orchids for Florida
• Huntleyas and Related Orchids

5 Responses to “Orchid Fever (Methuen non-fiction)”

1. reality bites says:

   February 12, 2010 at 12:00 am

   Well written and highly entertaining. Orchid Fever is not just a book for orchid lovers (like me) but anyone who is interested in conservation, horticulture, travel, international trade or just likes to find out how the real world operates. Overall a wonderful account of people passionate about plants and bureaucratic insanity.
2. L. Humiston says:

   May 4, 2009 at 12:00 am

   This is a very interesting book for any plant lover especially those who try to grow orchids. Makes you think twice, maybe three times, about what government can do to the environment and people who really care. Don’t trust any government to do the right thing.
3. Teddy M. Harrison says:

   January 12, 2009 at 12:00 am

   It has taken me 10 years, but I am now able to buy an orchid plant at Long’s, care for it, repot it, and have it bloom more than once under my control and responsibility. I am that much an amateur orchid enthusiast, no foreign travel, no cloning, no $1000 species for me. Certainly no show winners. But orchids thrill me. I have 14 plants (I just bought another one: dayglo green with fuscia petals)all of which are in rather good health. Some have little nubs of flower stems on them.

   This wonderful book has inspired me. It has entertained me, and made me laugh too (“What’s dog food?”). I have learned so much, and I now feel the depth and tradition and botanical (cellular, even) heritage that motivates and directs the DNA, hypothalamus, and higher-functioning regions of the brain of the orchid-lover. This book and its stories have added a romance and knowledge to my love and care of my plants.
4. Harry Eagar says:

   September 28, 2007 at 12:00 am

   There’s probably a good book about orchids and the recondite subject of international orchid policy in “Orchid Fever.” In fact, I’m sure of it. Unfortunately, Eric Hansen spoils his effort with a lubricious, snarky brew of exaggerations, sneers, dubious anecdotes and invented suggestions.

   One example can stand for a multitude of sins. Hansen attends a three-day conference and trade show of orchid fanciers, trying to set up the idea that these people are wild, crazy, risk-taking guys and gals — not far from sociopaths is the general view. His evidence: The conferees sang karaoke and after that, “What went on in the hotel rooms after dark between the orchid growers was anybody’s guess.”

   You could write the same thing about an Amway convention. So?

   The serious issue behind this unserious book is how (or if) to conserve orchids that may (or may not) be threatened by collectors, habitat destruction or whatever it is that threatens orchids.

   The antagonists are, on one side, amateurs, businessmen and independent scholars; and, on the other, academics and international bureaucrats, who are accused of self-aggrandizement and appropriation. It is not an issue just with orchids or even just about plants. It comes up concerning ancient artifacts, fossils, sunken treasure, even — in a non-material sense — myths and legends. See my review of “A Dinosaur Named Sue” for an example with fossils.

   A friend of mine who runs an orchid nursery confirms the difficulty. Under a treaty called CITES that purports to protect endangered species, he must prove that his commercial stock (450 species) does not derive from wild-collected plants. Of course, ultimately, any orchid derives from such stock, but CITES has rules. My friend got much of his stock from his teacher, now dead. How can he prove where the teacher obtained it?

   My friend could have his business shut down. In the worst instance, he could be shut up in a prison. It has happened to others.

   “Orchid Fever” has obtained wide publicity and wide sales. It was aimed at the thoughtless, the sensationalistic and the lascivious, and there are plenty of those people out there. It’s sad that probably the most-read book about orchids turns out to be a piece of low-rent crap.
5. Matt Hill says:

   August 9, 2007 at 12:00 am

   Having no interest in orchids whatsoever, I picked up “Orchid Fever” because I have been smitten with Eric Hansen’s lucied and entertaining adventure writings (see previous reviews). This book is well researched and very well salted with Hansen’s devastating wit and easygoing demeanor.

   We are introduced to the orchid universe via the growers, scientists, show judges, “orchid police”, and so-called smugglers who turn out to be not so.

   Hansen once more captivates with these loosely linked stories of orchid obsessed people and the absurdities of the power brokers so bent on enforcing horticultural regulations that end up ensnaring the wrong people.

   “Orchid Fever” is part expose, part travelogue, part literary journalism, and part horticultural history. This really is investigative writing at its very best, at turns tantalizing and educational. This man has a seriously clever wit which keeps the narrative light and fluid.

   Hansen’s abilities as a writer are superb: he knows his craft as well as any contemporary non-fiction writer. The seven years of creating this wonderfully woven bunch of stories is very much appreciated. From the first sentence, your attention is requisitioned and not released until the last – the mark of a Big League writer I think.

   As always with Eric Hansen, my highest kudos.

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