Who would have thought there was so much to say about the modern
love affair between America and bananas? I should have known it,
though, for at Mathcamp the staff had entire wars based on bananas and
the pilfering thereof. We snuck extras out of the cafeteria, hid them
in refrigerators, even wrote our names on the peels in a feeble
attempt to secure a personal, steady supply. Alas, it was not to
be. How did this miracle fruit go from being an exotic food iteam for
the rich to the universal snack? Jenkins tells us how, in this very
thoroughly researched book. Pretty much anything you want to know
about bananas in the 20th century is here: medical attitudes, recipes,
social status, trade wars, banana jokes ("I'm sorry, I can't hear
you -- I've got a banana in my ear.") - you name it, it's in
here, which is surprising for such a relatively trim book. She's got a
slew of references in the back, should you ever wish to check her
sources; for the less academic of us, there's also an extensive list
of banana songs.

Bananas are such a workaday fruit, we
forget how important they have been in reflecting society. With each
new medical fad, bananas reinvent themselves as a perfect food; during
the period where dirty fruit was a concern, the thick peel of the
banana was a boon; when vitamins, minerals, and proteins were seen as
important, bananas were found to have such things in abundance; when
high-calories and high-fat were a concern, bananas were found to be an
energy-full, low-fat snack. Even stranger, at one point in history,
bananas were considered a treatment for celiac disease (an extreme
form of gluten-intolerance - so basically all breads and grains are
inedible to such children, and many died due to malnutrition); during
World War II, during which much of the banana supply was cut off,
there were stories of frantic parents mobilizing entire towns to round
up banana supplies for their sick children, sure that their children
would die without bananas. And yet, in just a generation previous,
parents had been warned against giving =any= raw fruits or vegetables
to children under the age of 7. The chapter in which this fascinating
material resides is called "Peril and Panacea", which
provides a prismatic view of the changing medical atmosphere in
America in the 20th century. A few other details which I found
interesting: there were banana cookbooks, one of the recipes being for
"Bananas and Bacon" - I kid you not. There's even a picture
of it in the book. As well, much of the editorial cartoons and jokes
involving banana peels reflected anti-immigrant sentiment, once
bananas had become so cheap even the newly arrived poor could afford
to eat them. Of course, there are a couple of obligatory "banana
as phallus" remarks (explaining why proper young women were to
use a knife and fork to eat the offending fruit), but they do not
overwhelm. Sometimes a banana is just a banana.

The only
other fruit that could possibly have had as much impact on the
American psyche is the apple (well, maybe the orange). Though this is
a history book, it is far from dry, and Jenkins lets off a couple
zingers of her own. If you've ever eaten a banana or know someone who
has, this book is for you; so I guess that means about everyone. I
have no idea, then, why this isn't at the top of the bestseller
list.

But if your an American lawn history junkie like me, it's required reading.

Please also see, "Redesigning the American Lawn; A search for Environmental Harmony," by F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, Gordon T. Geballe. This book takes up where we leave off. What is the impact of millions of monoculture lawns on the lifestyles and wallets of those who tend them, and on the environment? How can I change my yard to look better, and spend less time and money tending it (and to have less of a negative impact on the environment.)