John Laroche is a sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he has the posture of 'al dente' spaghetti. He is also an orchid thief, arrested for stealing rare orchids from a wild swamp and nature reserve in southern Florida. Intrigued and fascinated by Laroche, Susan Orlean followed him through the swamps and into the eccentric world of the obsessive orchid collectors of Florida, a subculture aristocrats, enthusiasts, and smugglers whose passion for plants is all-consuming. Along the way, Orlean explores the history of orchid-collecting, discovers the extent of plant crime in Florida, and spends time with Laroche's employers and partners in crime, a tribe of Seminole Indians who are still at war with the United States.
Beautifully written, bizarrely funny and curiously gripping, The Orchid Thief is an enthralling exploration of the nature of obsession and of the beauty and strangeness of the flowers that have captivated generations of collectors.
