The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats

Peaches from China, avocados from Chile, and pomegranates from Malta. But as a new century approached, appetites broadened, and David Fairchild, a young botanist with an insatiable lust to explore and experience the world, set out in search of foods that would enrich the American farmer and enchant the American eater.Kale from Croatia, mangoes from India, and hops from Bavaria. Along the way, he was arrested, caught diseases, and bargained with island tribes. The true adventures of David Fairchild, a late-nineteenth-century food explorer who traveled the globe and introduced diverse crops like avocados, mangoes, seedless grapes--and thousands more--to the American plateIn the nineteenth century, American meals were about subsistence, not enjoyment. But his culinary ambition came during a formative era, and through him, America transformed into the most diverse food system ever created.. Fairchild's finds weren't just limited to food: From Egypt he sent back a variety of cotton that revolutionized an industry, and via Japan he introduced the cherry blossom tree, forever brightening America's capital

Any American who has ever savored a cashew or a nectarine has David Fairchild to thank. I think I had almost as much fun reading about Fairchild's adventures as he had living them.”—Candice Millard, New York Times Bestselling Author of Hero of the Empire “Dan Stone spins a fascinating tale of a most unusual explorer. “The Food Explorer is not only filled with fascinating information and incredible characters, it's also original, colorful and irresistibly charming. With a sharp eye and a deft touch, Stone has brought to life an intriguing new hero and his Gilded Age adventures around the globe.”—Evan Thomas, New York Times Bestselling Author of Being Nixon

Daniel Stone is a staff writer for National Geographic and a former White House correspondent for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. . A native of Los Angeles, he holds degrees from UC Davis and Johns Hopkins University