{"product_id":"the-orchid-thief","title":"The Orchid Thief","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER - A \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eNOTABLE BOOK - THE BASIS FOR THE FILM \u003ci\u003eADAPTATION\u003c\/i\u003e DIRECTED BY SPIKE JONZE AND STARRING NICOLAS CAGE AND MERYL STREEP\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \"eccentric, illuminating, [and] hilarious\" (New York \u003ci\u003eDaily News\u003c\/i\u003e) true story of beauty and obsession in the swamps of Florida and the impassioned individuals who risk everything for the ultimate prize: a rare ghost orchid\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.\"--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMeet John Laroche, a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive renegade plant dealer. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole men were arrested with rare ghost orchids--\u003ci\u003ePolyrrhiza lindenii--\u003c\/i\u003ethey had stolen from a wild swamp in South Florida. Laroche had planned to clone the endangered orchids and sell them for a small fortune to impassioned buyers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief, \u003c\/i\u003eacclaimed journalist Susan Orlean follows 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. This unforgettable tour of America's strange flower-selling subculture becomes even more bizarre as Orlean details how the head of a famous Seminole chief came to be displayed in the front window of a local pharmacy, how seven hundred iguanas were smuggled into Florida, and the case of the only known extraterrestrial plant crime. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA modern classic of personal journalism, \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief\u003c\/i\u003e is a wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession.","brand":"Ballantine Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48515355672825,"sku":"9780449003718","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/1811\/7625\/files\/imageloader_b8c97954-669e-4060-b44f-7429d533e11d.jpg?v=1781207622","url":"https:\/\/hookeandplotte.com\/products\/the-orchid-thief","provider":"Hooke and Plotte Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}