The Orchid Thief
by Susan Orlean · first published 1998
3mentions
2recommended by
3HN commenters
2016–2021first – last mentioned
67% recommend33% neutral
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 on
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I don’t think it explains much in a scientific sense, but with the theme of passion and obsession, I really enjoyed The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchid_Thief And this famous quote from that book: > “The world is so huge that people are always getting lost in it. There are too many ideas and…
on “1:60 scale Boeing 777 made from manila folders” ↗…solve every single problem in it. Which I did. Sadly, twenty years on, my algebra game is poor. But that summer, of abiding in algebra, was a really spiritual experience. And it's left a mark. 3. The Orchid Thief/Susan Orlean. By my early twenties it was clear to me I enjoy non-fiction more than fiction. But I enjoyed it for the intellectual experience, it would never leave me rattled the way fiction can leave…
on “Ask HN: Which book/essay changed your life?” ↗Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation also addresses the strains and mutations involved in porting art to a different medium with different demands. The movie self-referentially concerns adapting the book The Orchid Thief into a very-different – but perhaps necessarily-different? – film.
on “Ted Chiang on Seeing His Stories Adapted and the Ever-Expanding Popularity of SF” ↗