The Orchid Thief

A True Story of Beauty and Obsession

By: Susan Orlean

Narrated by: Jennifer Meyers

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

In Susan Orlean's mesmerizing true story of beauty and obsession is John Laroche, a renegade plant dealer and sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he is missing his front teeth and has the posture of al dente spaghetti. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world's most extraordinary plants and trees. Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native Amer-ican activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious.

New Yorker writer Susan Orlean followed Laroche through swamps and into the eccentric world of Florida's orchid collectors, a subculture of aristocrats, fanatics, and smugglers whose obsession with plants is all-consuming. Along the way, Orlean learned the history of orchid collecting, discovered an odd pattern of plant crimes in Florida, and spent time with Laroche's partners, a tribe of Seminole Indians who are still at war with the United States.

There is something fascinating or funny or truly bizarre on every page of The Orchid Thief: the story of how the head of a famous Seminole chief came to be displayed in the front window of a local pharmacy; or how seven hundred iguanas were smuggled into Florida; or the case of the only known extraterrestrial plant crime. Ultimately, however, Susan Orlean's book is about passion itself, and the amazing lengths to which people will go to gratify it. That passion is captured with singular vision in The Orchid Thief, a once-in-a-lifetime story by one of our most original journalists.

Praise for The Orchid Thief

“Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.”—Los Angeles Times

©1998 Susan Orlean (P)2001 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.”—Boston Sunday Globe

“A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”—The Wall Street Journal

Great book, OK delivery

The reader's jaunty, affected delivery would be far more appropriate for a comic novel than a work of non-fiction. She is aided greatly by the quality of the text itself.

If you like detail...

A deep dive into the history and horticulture of orchids form the framework of a slow paced, but engaging read. The wildlife and story of the Seminole will entertain and educate you. The story seems secondary to the immersive experience that this true story provides. #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

What happened here?

There are books that make me think that maybe I can write a book and it sell some copies. This is one of those. While it had some interesting factoids included, the rest fell very flat and the ending seemed as if she just gave up. This book was preceded by Bill Brysons "1927" so maybe that had something to do with my disappointment.

Nothing Ever Happens

It started out interesting enough, but nothing ever happens. Orleans is a writer for The New Yorker, and in the end..... and all the way through, it felt like it was really just a really long magazine article. It would have been enjoyable if it were an hour or two... but, it wasn’t for me.
I lived as a transplant in South Florida for several years, so I did find the descriptions of of typical hustler Floridians interesting though.

Hilarious & Fascinating Read!

OMG this book was fabulous! And thank God the author read it because she did a perfect job reading it. She is so absolutely smart, and hilarious, it is like talking to your best friend for 10 hours. Treat yourself to this.

Good story, badly read

That whiney, cutesy voice just isn’t right for telling this interesting tale. Who chooses the narrator, anyway? Doesn’t the author have any say? Especially when it’s a first-person narrative?

Loved it!

This is a great story with so much interesting information and history. Great cast of characters!

Interesting History of Florida and Orchids, Narrator NOT so Interesting

This was an interesting history and story about Florida, it’s orchid business and the Seminole Indians. I wish I had read the printed book rather than listened to the Audible book. I did NOT enjoy the narrator for the Audible version at all, She read at a very fast-clipped pace. She also did not pause in places where there should have been a pause for emphasis or topic change.

Fascinating story well told and narrated

I recently read this book after seeing the movie ADAPTATION which is exactly that, an adaptation of this book. It's a wonderful book about a man obsessed by orchids and it's about orchids, obsession, and also veers off into the history of Florida real estate to boot. I found it to be a fascinating 'journey' about things that don't usually interest me in the least. It's very well written and researched and it's also very unusual and hard to describe since it's not really a story but more of a quest to discover what motivates people. Highly recommended, it was exactly the kind of book that translates well into an audiobook, easy to follow and full of navigations off the beaten path. A real pleasure.

Good Story, Bad Editing

I enjoyed this story but found the narrator tried too hard and read too fast giveing the listener the feeling of being pushed to listen. Also the editor of Format 4 cut words off when putting the chapters together (about 10 times in the first 48 minutes)..this is extremely annoying! Not a progessional production.