{"product_id":"orchid-thief-book-susan-orlean-9780449003718","title":"The Orchid Thief","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER * A \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e NOTABLE 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\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\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\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\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\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Meet 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief,\u003c\/i\u003e acclaimed 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 \u003cbr\u003e A 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":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49517825261841,"sku":"GOR002664455","price":15.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49527937237265,"sku":"GOR009212973","price":13.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49758548558097,"sku":"CIN044900371XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":49763383017745,"sku":"CIN044900371XA","price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50492831662353,"sku":"CIN044900371XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50896834887953,"sku":"GOR009450454","price":15.49,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51002546192657,"sku":"NIN9780449003718","price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/044900371X.jpg?v=1751134976","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/products\/orchid-thief-book-susan-orlean-9780449003718","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}