Oranges
by John McPhee · first published 1967
8mentions
8recommended by
8HN commenters
2014–2026first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Engaging nonfiction about the orange, covering its history and botany, how it is grown, and how it is processed into juice. Its storytelling suits anyone curious about food or agriculture.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
McPhee writes about the botany, history, and industry of oranges.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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Oranges. http://www.amazon.com/Oranges-John-McPhee/dp/0374512973 Absolutely fascinating -- it's just about oranges.
on “Using the wrong dictionary” ↗…Kate Ascher Language and Thought by Chomsky Hero of a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell Language and Responsibility by Chomsky Magic, Science, Religion by Malinowski Meditiations by Marcus Aurelius Oranges by John McPhee The Dream of the Enlightement, Anthony Gottlieb Nonexistant Knight/Cloven Viscount, two novellas by Calvino Italo Deltoid Pumpkin Seed by John McPhee Infrastructure by Brian Haynes…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗…examples of 'branding' I didn't find this article all that well written or informative. I recommend Chapman's Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World I also happened to read John McPhee's Oranges at the same time. The contrast between the orange (an ancient fruit, widely consumed, hardy, with a rich literary tradition) and the banana is stark. Both books, by the way, are great little studies…
on “How the global banana industry is killing the world’s favorite fruit” ↗Read absolutely ANYTHING by John McPhee! He's the best nonfiction writer alive today, he can make anything into an interesting story. Oranges, canoes, geology, fishing...
on “FedEx Ends Ground-Delivery Deal with Amazon” ↗Go read any book by John McPhee (the writer in question) and if you are not delighted I will donate $20 to the charity of your choice. I recommend Oranges but they're all quite good.
on “Using the wrong dictionary (2014)” ↗…the engineer behind the smallest nuke warhead in the world, and his concerns that terrorists may be able to build warheads themselves. Pretty much any McPhee book or article is fascinating. His book Oranges is all about farming oranges, processing orange juice so it can sit in refrigerated vats for months (and how it is reconstituted through "flavor packs" that give it back the OJ flavors after long storage)…
on “What it's Really Like to be an Alaskan Truck Driver” ↗This is very cool, thank you for building it! I remember reading about the mess of citrus genealogy in John McPhee's Oranges (wonderful book).
on “A ternary plot of citrus geneology” ↗The John McPhee article that the author references was expanded into a book, and it's a great read for anyone that finds this story interesting: https://www.amazon.com/Oranges-John-McPhee-ebook/dp/B005E8AN...
on “Who Killed the Florida Orange?” ↗