Oranges

In this book, McPhee (In Pursuit of Spring) sets out to find out just what it is that makes the orange so perfect food. We learn about the orange's history, its perceived medicinal properties (which in fact date back to Ancient Egypt), and its botanical characteristics, as well as strategies for growing and banking the crop. We meet all sorts of people who are deeply involved with the fruit's cultivation and consumption, including an 81-year-old named Mabel Louise Burrowes in an isolated area of Texas who, apparently obsessedwithy the fruit,lives on a diet largely composed of nothing else. The result is a richly entertaining portrait of the orange-its history and its future-and of its place in American culture.