The Orchid Thief
The Orchid ThiefSusan Orlean

The Orchid Thief (1998)

Susan Orlean

Creators: Liked

The orchid thief in Susan Orlean's 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 American activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious.

ISBN:
9781565116900
Length:
300 pages

Genres: biography

Lists: …
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Reviews1

abookolive
Liked

then I read two gentle true-crime books the man who loved books too much by Allison Hoover Bartlett's all about a man who stole books of all kinds from book dealers and the orchid thief by Susan Orlean all about the theft of rare orchids from the state of Florida I read both of these books ahead of a recommendations video I did for non murder true crime books

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