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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English
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THE FOOD EXPLORER

Daniel Stone

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

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 plate.
In the nineteenth century, American meals were about subsistence, not enjoyment. 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. Peaches from China, avocados from Chile, and pomegranates from Malta. 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. Along the way, he was arrested, caught diseases, and bargained with island tribes. But his culinary ambition came during a formative era, and through him, America transformed into the most diverse food system ever created.

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.
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Book

Published 2018-02-20 by Dutton

Book

Published 2018-02-20 by Dutton

Comments

Dan Stone's interview on NPR's All Things Considered. A fantastic five minute conversation with host Ari Shapiro, he discussed David Fairchild's life, quinoa, and much more. Read more...

Move over, Anthony Bourdain. Here is a story about a profligate world traveler with a discriminating palate. A delightful tale of science and wanderlust.

Great review in the Chicago Tribume: From avocados to kale: How one man forever changed the way we eat Read more...

Daniel Stone brings a forgotten era of American food back to the table... Stone brings drama, humor, and perspective.

10 Books About Food to Add to Your Home Library. Read more...

Entertaining... [Stone] captures the flavor of an adventurous age, using Fairchild's voluminous writings to launch vivid descriptions of his travels.

The Food Explorer is not only filled with fascinating information and incredible characters, it’s also original, colorful and irresistibly charming. I think I had almost as much fun reading about Fairchild’s adventures as he had living them.

America's First "Food Spy" Traveled the World Hunting for Exotic Crops - A new book details the life of adventurer-botanist David Fairchild Read more...

The Davis Enterprise in Davis, California ran a nice write-up of his upcoming event. Read more...

Foodies and scientists alike will appreciate Stone's informative and entertaining book. Read more...

Daniel Stone was on CBS This Morning this past Saturday. It was a great wide-ranging 4-minute interview that covered a lot of ground, including crops and D.C's cherry blossoms. Read more...

Mango, kale, avocado and more in US can all be traced to one man... The history of food in the United States can be divided into two periods: before David Fairchild and after David Fairchild... Read more...

Excerpt and audio clip - THE MAN WHO BROUGHT AVOCADOS TO AMERICA (AND MORE) Read more...

Dan Stone's essay for TIME.com - It's called "How the Man Who brought the Cherry Blossoms to Washington Narrowly Avoided a Diplomatic Crisis." Read more...

Simplified Chinese: Guangxi Normal University Press ; Japanese: Tsukiji Shokan

The Food Explorer is featured in the January issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Man who changed what we eat Globe-trotter: David Fairchild introduced exotic produce to the U.S. Read more...

Daniel Stone draws the reader into an intriguing, seductive world, rich with stories and surprises. The Food Explorer shows you the history and drama hidden in your fruit bowl. It's a delicious piece of writing.

Daniel Stone has written an elegant food history, a thrilling tour of a lost world - sometimes glamorous, sometimes dangerous, and always highly entertaining.

Meet the man who introduced us to mangos, kale and avocados Read more...

Dan Stone spins a fascinating tale of a most unusual explorer. Any American who has ever savored a cashew or a nectarine has David Fairchild to thank. 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.

An erudite and entertaining historical biography of a food pioneer.

In The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of a Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats, Daniel Stone transforms seemingly endless journals, letters and records into a meticulous retelling of how David Fairchild transported thousands of plants to American soil between 1894 and 1904. Read more...

Publishers Weekly included the title in their Fall Travel Books "Be Here Now" roundup in their new issue. The write-up says, "If you've ever instagrammed your avocado toast, thank the subject of this book, botanist David Fairchild, whose international travels led to the introduction in the U.S. of kale from Croatia, mangoes from India, and, thank the brunch gods, avocados from Chile."

The NYTBR of The Food Explorer is now online. Great headline they picked, "What's a Zucchini?" total click bait. Read more...

10 Books Every Foodie Needs In Their Kitchen - And None Of Them Are Cookbooks: If the job title "Food Explorer" sounds too good to be true, think again. David Fairchild was, in fact, a late-nineteenth-century food explorer who traveled the world, taking once-regional crops (like avocados, mangos, seedless grapes - basically everything you love in your morning smoothie) global. The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone tells the story of this globe-trotting foodie, whose background in botany is responsible for tons of the fruits and veggies that land on your plate today. Read more...

This fascinating read will appeal to those interested in American history and food culture, travel narratives, and agriculture.