The Orchid Thief
by Susan Orlean
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The orchid thief in Susan Orlean's true story of beauty and obsession is John Laroche, a renegade plant dealer and sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he is missing his front teeth and has the posture of al dente spaghetti. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world's most extraordinary plants and trees.
Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native American activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious.
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Subjects
Anecdotes, Plant collectors, Florida, Nursery growers, Polyradicion lindenii, Hollywood, Orchids, Biography, Orchid culture, Horticulturists, Florida, biography, Large type books, Laroche, john, Orlean, susan, Nursery growers--florida--hollywood--biography, Plant collectors--florida--hollywood--biography, Polyradicion lindenii--florida--fakahatchee strand state preserve--anecdotes, Orchids--florida--fakahatchee strand state preserve--anecdotesPeople
John Laroche, Susan OrleanShowing 4 featured editions. View all 11 editions?
| Edition | Availability |
|---|---|
1
The Orchid Thief
September 12, 2002, Highbridge Audio
Audio Cassette
in English
- Abridged edition
1565116895 9781565116894
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The orchid thief
1998, Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
in English
- Large print ed.
156895736X 9781568957364
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- Created April 30, 2008
- 7 revisions
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| December 5, 2025 | Edited by MARC Bot | set source_records based on initial machine_comment |
| August 10, 2010 | Edited by IdentifierBot | added LibraryThing ID |
| April 24, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs. |
| April 16, 2010 | Edited by bgimpertBot | Added goodreads ID. |
| April 30, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from amazon.com record |