Writing style
Conversational · Descriptive · Journalistic · Witty
Apple BooksThe Orchid Thief
Science and nature
- First published
- 1998
- Print length
- 284 pagesBallantine, 2000
Description
Susan Orlean follows the strange true story of John Laroche, a horticulturist and renegade plant dealer arrested for poaching rare orchids with Seminole people in a protected South Florida preserve. Laroche intended to clone the orchids and sell them to collectors for substantial profit. His arrest leads into a legal dispute involving environmentalists, Native American activists, and orchid enthusiasts. Orlean’s investigation unfolds in the biologically rich Fakahatchee Strand, where the wild swamp becomes as important as the people drawn to its rare plants. Through Laroche’s scheme, the book explores the powerful mixture of beauty, obsession, and profit surrounding orchids.
Reading profile
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Pace
Moderate
Tone
Atmospheric · Humorous · Playful · Reflective
Structure
Braided
Focus
Atmosphere · Character · Information
Emotional intensity
2 / 5
Reading complexity
1–5 · higher means more demanding- Writing
- 3 / 5
- Ideas
- 3 / 5
- Structure
- 3 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 2 / 5
Themes
Book details
For the print edition listed above.
- Publisher
- Ballantine
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780449003718
Keep your books and notes in Collected for iPhone.
Apple Books is a service mark of Apple Inc. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.