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Bananas!: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World
In this gripping exploration of corporate manuevering and subterfuge, Peter Chapman shows how the importer United Fruit set the precedent for the institutionalized power and influence of today's multinational companies. Bananas! is a sharp and lively account of the rise and fall of this infamous company, arguably the most controversial global corporation ever – from the jungles of Costa Rica to the dramatic suicide of its CEO, who leapt from an office on the forty-fourth floor of the Pan Am building in New York City. From the marketing of the banana as the first fast food, to the company’s involvement in an invasion of Honduras, the Bay of Pigs crisis, and a bloody coup in Guatemala, Chapman weaves a dramatic tale of big business, political deceit, and outright violence to show how one company wreaked havoc in the “banana republics” of Central America, and how terrifyingly similar the age of United Fruit is to our age of rapid globalization.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
June 7, 2012
Definitely an interesting read, though I'll echo what other reviewers have mentioned about the book: the writing leaves a lot to be desired. The introduction and epilogues, in particular, are clunky and disorganized. Once Chapman finally began describing events chronologically, I was hooked.
This is less a book about bananas and more a book about the interrelated histories of colonization, capitalism and globalization. The banana lens gives us an interesting, and, at times, entertaining, way to look at these complex and nefarious forces.
All in all, anyone with an interest in Latin American history should read this book. It's hard to believe how one giant banana company could effect so many national and global conflicts. Here's an example:
"The Guatemalan coup of 1954 [largely fabricated and orchestrated by United Fruit, the banana company] had led to the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, as a result of which Fidel Castro invited, or allowed, the Soviet Union to place nuclear missiles of the island. This provoked the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the Cold War incident thought to have been the nearest mankind has come to the end of the world. No one would have remotely imagined it had anything to do with bananas."
Chapman does a nice job at explaining cause and effect, and also admits when he's stretching to make a connection.
Overall, this is a well-researched book with lots of fodder for intriguing dinner-table conversations...as long as you're not eating banana bread for dessert.
This is less a book about bananas and more a book about the interrelated histories of colonization, capitalism and globalization. The banana lens gives us an interesting, and, at times, entertaining, way to look at these complex and nefarious forces.
All in all, anyone with an interest in Latin American history should read this book. It's hard to believe how one giant banana company could effect so many national and global conflicts. Here's an example:
"The Guatemalan coup of 1954 [largely fabricated and orchestrated by United Fruit, the banana company] had led to the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, as a result of which Fidel Castro invited, or allowed, the Soviet Union to place nuclear missiles of the island. This provoked the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the Cold War incident thought to have been the nearest mankind has come to the end of the world. No one would have remotely imagined it had anything to do with bananas."
Chapman does a nice job at explaining cause and effect, and also admits when he's stretching to make a connection.
Overall, this is a well-researched book with lots of fodder for intriguing dinner-table conversations...as long as you're not eating banana bread for dessert.
September 28, 2015
I really enjoyed the earlier chapters that dealt with the swashbuckling beginnings of the banana industry and the United Fruit Company. He is at his best when he stick to bananas. The book goes bad when he strays into politics and economics, which are clearly not his strength and he simply drops blanket statements with no nuance or explanation. He comes down pretty clearly in the side of free market big business, which is irritating, especially when his politics shouldn't be prominent in a nonfiction history book at all.
The later chapters are much less interesting and tend to jump around a lot. He will make absurd upsupportable opinions like, "the stodgy welfare society, in all it's mediocrity, would be replaced by the 'opportunity state'. It's pretty annoying that he makes huge blanket statements about really complicated economic matters in a single breezy sentence. Nuanced writers, it seems, don't use words like 'capitalism' at all, but rather 'market economy'. Chapman lacks this nuance. Also he drops into first person at times which is annoying.
Overall, the banana parts are good, the rest is a stretch at best.
The later chapters are much less interesting and tend to jump around a lot. He will make absurd upsupportable opinions like, "the stodgy welfare society, in all it's mediocrity, would be replaced by the 'opportunity state'. It's pretty annoying that he makes huge blanket statements about really complicated economic matters in a single breezy sentence. Nuanced writers, it seems, don't use words like 'capitalism' at all, but rather 'market economy'. Chapman lacks this nuance. Also he drops into first person at times which is annoying.
Overall, the banana parts are good, the rest is a stretch at best.
November 9, 2020
A little known chapter of US history, but one that tells all of the story of our foreign policy since almost the founding of the nation: almost always interfering in the affairs of other countries, for our own financial and ideological gain, not for national security reasons.
Want to understand why the term "banana republic" exists? Want to learn about one the first companies to be a "multinational"? How it influenced (and sometimes made) government policy? How it was tied up with the man (Edward Bernays) who invented "public relations". It's all here. The author does a good job of condensing a lot of information and material into a coherent and readable narrative, and even seems to do a summary via the epilogue for those who hadn't been paying attention for the previous 200+ pages.
Want to understand why the term "banana republic" exists? Want to learn about one the first companies to be a "multinational"? How it influenced (and sometimes made) government policy? How it was tied up with the man (Edward Bernays) who invented "public relations". It's all here. The author does a good job of condensing a lot of information and material into a coherent and readable narrative, and even seems to do a summary via the epilogue for those who hadn't been paying attention for the previous 200+ pages.
April 1, 2020
I liked learning about shitty multinational corporations and the impact we had on other countries. I was appalled but what I learned but those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. The biggest contributing factor to giving this book 2 stars was the way it was organized. It felt very disjointed, though I feel like Chapman was trying to move through out the book chronologically, I didn't get it. It made the book harder to follow than it needed to be. I also think Chapman was a bit biased in the easy he described certain groups, the adjectives he used for certain groups of people didn't sit well with me but I'll let you guys make those decisions yourself. I think everyone should this book, or at least some book thar details the creation of "banana republics" and the systems and people that allowed them to stay in place for so long.
December 12, 2012
This is a quick read and good overview of a company that had outsized influence in Central America. In a depressingly familiar scenario, it recounts how US capitalist interests lead to intereference in, manipulation, and control of the affairs of weaker nations. This is not an in depth history, but rather a breezy summary that may not be well nuanced. But Chapman makes a strong case that the practices of United Fruit, and its government connections, served as the model and precedent for international corporate interests and practices today.
The book reads like a novel and includes shadowy events and characters including Howard Hunt, John Foster and Allen Dulles (who were early United Fruit employees), Joseph McCarthy, Carmen Miranda, the overthrow of the liberal Guatemalan government in 1954, Che Guevera (who became radicalized in the Guatemala fight), and the Bay of Pigs invasion(which United Fruit supported with ships).
United Fruit prevailed over a capitalist-focused disease-ridden banana monoculture which decimated Central American plantations, until its last leader leaped from the Pan Am Building in 1975. It's quite a story! The author has been a correspondent for the BBC and The Guardian in Central America.
The book reads like a novel and includes shadowy events and characters including Howard Hunt, John Foster and Allen Dulles (who were early United Fruit employees), Joseph McCarthy, Carmen Miranda, the overthrow of the liberal Guatemalan government in 1954, Che Guevera (who became radicalized in the Guatemala fight), and the Bay of Pigs invasion(which United Fruit supported with ships).
United Fruit prevailed over a capitalist-focused disease-ridden banana monoculture which decimated Central American plantations, until its last leader leaped from the Pan Am Building in 1975. It's quite a story! The author has been a correspondent for the BBC and The Guardian in Central America.
October 9, 2020
This book was ok. I really wanted to like it more.
I would not have thought you could take an absolutely bonkers history like that of United Fruit and make it underwhelming, but that's just what this author did. I knew a little of the region and history already, without which it would also have been hard to follow.
Overall the experience was like sitting next to an overly intoxicated history professor at a fancy dinner is awkward to leave.
I would not have thought you could take an absolutely bonkers history like that of United Fruit and make it underwhelming, but that's just what this author did. I knew a little of the region and history already, without which it would also have been hard to follow.
Overall the experience was like sitting next to an overly intoxicated history professor at a fancy dinner is awkward to leave.
June 3, 2019
Disturbing history of the United Fruit Company- from slave traders to CIA collusion in creating many of our modern crises (arguably a prime contributor to the illegal immigration problem we face now). Worth reading- thought provoking.
October 27, 2021
Bananas are an accidentally successful crop, started as an after thought by enterprising business man Minor Keith, who made this exotic rare tropical fruit become a ubiquitous staple in the grocery aisle. The popularity of the banana is part of literary works; the writer O’Henry coined the term, ‘Banana Republic’, in his novel ‘Of Cabbages and Kings’, and in Gabrielle Marquis’ One hundred Days of Solitude, ‘Macondo’ references the powerful banana plantains that operate in Central America.
The book gives compact history of the United Fruit company, one of the first vertically integrated multinational company in the 19th century. Known as the ‘Octopus', during its peak, the United Fruit Company controlled three quarters of the banana market; its reach extended from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Cuba, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, New Orleans, and it’s former US headquarters in Boston Massachusetts. The company has infuriated and confounded US presidents through the decades such as negotiating trade agreements with the Germans during WWII and the creating local labor shortages to stall the building of the Panama Canal during 1903.
United Fruit has had the administration of several Central American countries in its grip through its monopolistic owner ship of foreign land, railroads, telecommunications and ports. It took over shipping companies and importers to control distribution channels, putting its competitors out of business. Though several one sided foreign government business contracts, Central American governments become mired in heavy financial debt to United Fruit. The countries where United Fruit operates, heavily influence the commerce and the livelihoods of the the local inhabitants, so that the fragile governments burdened with inflation and spiraling debt begin to appease the leviathan company and bend to its demands.
A long history of unethical, unsafe labor practices and the creation of a monoculture which exploited the local ecology, are also part of the legacy of United Fruit. Later, during the mid 20th century, democratically elected socialists leaders in Central America and the Cuba threatened to challenge their governments’ financial management and arrangements of United Fruit’s status quo in their respective countries. United Fruit hired PR aficionado Edward Bernays, and later colluded with the US State department officials and the CIA to foster a coup to overthrow the new democratic regimes and any opposition that threatened their business operations in the Caribbean and Central America. In “Operation Success”, coined by the CIA, President Arbenz of Guatemala was ousted in a military coup due to his progressive land reform programs.
The story of United Fruit illustrates how private businesses took unfair advantage of developing nations through heavy handed corrupt means. It is one of the earliest cases of a global company exercising unfettered capitalism, including under reporting its profits and paying virtually no taxes in the foreign governments. The company became adept and powerful in lobbying Washington; using its political influence to protect its private interest overseas. During a strike in Santa Marta Columbia, banana plantation works were suppressed and killed by local Columbian troops under pressure from United Fruit and the US military. Within the company perspective, the profitable revenues generated by United Fruit justified its business practices. In the later part of the 20th century, the company’s dubious practices became more exposed and criticized, and along with other factors, subsequently its profits fell and the company went into bankruptcy.
Without an introduction or prologue in the book, unpredictably in the last chapter, a personal narrative from the author appears. The last chapter becomes an entangled history of the seventies, where the Watergate scandal, ITT company, OPEC and the journalism’s distrust of official government sources are all commingled. The issue of trade wars between free trade and fair trade practices between competition countries are all hurriedly mentioned as well in the last chapter.
In summary what the book does effectively share a snapshot of the irresponsible practices of a multinational company using United Fruit Company as a case study. United Fruit, as like many multinationals today, have annual revenues bigger the GDP of small nations. The company was the robber barren of the tropics, where it subdued US government regulation and tightly controlled the narrative of its public relations to rebuke any criticism. It is one of the clearest case where state power is used for private corporate interests and development in a foreign country.
Today United Fruit has been re-branded, changed board members, changed ownership hands, and its primary product has evolved to the next generation company known as Chiquita Banana. Sadly one cannot purchase a banana in the US market today, without acknowledging the dark past of the fruit’s history and its connection to the legacy of suffering in Central Americas created by the original company.
The book gives compact history of the United Fruit company, one of the first vertically integrated multinational company in the 19th century. Known as the ‘Octopus', during its peak, the United Fruit Company controlled three quarters of the banana market; its reach extended from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Cuba, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, New Orleans, and it’s former US headquarters in Boston Massachusetts. The company has infuriated and confounded US presidents through the decades such as negotiating trade agreements with the Germans during WWII and the creating local labor shortages to stall the building of the Panama Canal during 1903.
United Fruit has had the administration of several Central American countries in its grip through its monopolistic owner ship of foreign land, railroads, telecommunications and ports. It took over shipping companies and importers to control distribution channels, putting its competitors out of business. Though several one sided foreign government business contracts, Central American governments become mired in heavy financial debt to United Fruit. The countries where United Fruit operates, heavily influence the commerce and the livelihoods of the the local inhabitants, so that the fragile governments burdened with inflation and spiraling debt begin to appease the leviathan company and bend to its demands.
A long history of unethical, unsafe labor practices and the creation of a monoculture which exploited the local ecology, are also part of the legacy of United Fruit. Later, during the mid 20th century, democratically elected socialists leaders in Central America and the Cuba threatened to challenge their governments’ financial management and arrangements of United Fruit’s status quo in their respective countries. United Fruit hired PR aficionado Edward Bernays, and later colluded with the US State department officials and the CIA to foster a coup to overthrow the new democratic regimes and any opposition that threatened their business operations in the Caribbean and Central America. In “Operation Success”, coined by the CIA, President Arbenz of Guatemala was ousted in a military coup due to his progressive land reform programs.
The story of United Fruit illustrates how private businesses took unfair advantage of developing nations through heavy handed corrupt means. It is one of the earliest cases of a global company exercising unfettered capitalism, including under reporting its profits and paying virtually no taxes in the foreign governments. The company became adept and powerful in lobbying Washington; using its political influence to protect its private interest overseas. During a strike in Santa Marta Columbia, banana plantation works were suppressed and killed by local Columbian troops under pressure from United Fruit and the US military. Within the company perspective, the profitable revenues generated by United Fruit justified its business practices. In the later part of the 20th century, the company’s dubious practices became more exposed and criticized, and along with other factors, subsequently its profits fell and the company went into bankruptcy.
Without an introduction or prologue in the book, unpredictably in the last chapter, a personal narrative from the author appears. The last chapter becomes an entangled history of the seventies, where the Watergate scandal, ITT company, OPEC and the journalism’s distrust of official government sources are all commingled. The issue of trade wars between free trade and fair trade practices between competition countries are all hurriedly mentioned as well in the last chapter.
In summary what the book does effectively share a snapshot of the irresponsible practices of a multinational company using United Fruit Company as a case study. United Fruit, as like many multinationals today, have annual revenues bigger the GDP of small nations. The company was the robber barren of the tropics, where it subdued US government regulation and tightly controlled the narrative of its public relations to rebuke any criticism. It is one of the clearest case where state power is used for private corporate interests and development in a foreign country.
Today United Fruit has been re-branded, changed board members, changed ownership hands, and its primary product has evolved to the next generation company known as Chiquita Banana. Sadly one cannot purchase a banana in the US market today, without acknowledging the dark past of the fruit’s history and its connection to the legacy of suffering in Central Americas created by the original company.
June 25, 2021
A bit clunky here and there, and perhaps a bit editorialized at the end, but revelatory for anyone living in ignorance of the extent to which the US government destabilized foreign countries for the sole benefit of American business interests.
February 15, 2025
Needed to be more socialist
August 5, 2023
Super fascinating look at how big businesses and governments can get into some mischief with foreign countries when people aren't paying attention.
May 7, 2015
Bananas: How The United Fruit Company Shaped The World follows from inauspicious birth to heyday a corporation so powerful it orchestrated coups against unfriendly governments. It invented Seniorita Chiquita Banana. The book overreaches in saying it's a "United Fruit World", though UF had huge impact in the early 20th Century, introducing the banana to the world, standardizing bananas, and transforming huge swaths of Central American jungle to plantations via its "banana boats", railroads, ports and company towns. The term "Banana Republic" specifically refers to the tiny, corrupt Central American nations on the UF payroll.
This book has an understandably strong anti-UF tilt, but the author makes attempts at even-handedness, allowing for the corporation's technological advances, the fact it was the largest employer in Central America because it paid better than the workers could earn elsewhere, and it did some charitable works, especially in locating and restoring Mayan ruins. Some of its company towns still exist and it brought electricity and communications.
Though bananas are cheap and plentiful today, the United States and Europe had hardly seen the exotic fruit, which rots quickly, before the unlikely pairing of small-time but audacious businessmen, expat Minor Keith and a New Orleans banana trader, the Russian-born Jew Samuel Zemurray. Tiny Costa Rica, with barely 100,000 residents, wanted a railroad and after several failed attempts, President Guardia approached the trader Minor Keith about government money in exchange for a completed railroad from the capital to the sea. Keith agreed with the caveat that, like US land grant railroads, he be given jungle lands along the tracks. The railroad was built and after a few tries at different uses, Keith settled upon banana production in the adjacent lands. He also married President Guardia's daughter, cementing a United Fruit-Costa Rican alliance that would last for decades.
Bananas grew wild in small numbers in malarial jungle swamps. United Fruit settled on a specific breed of banana (the "Big Mike"), grew fantastic quantities through modern agriculture, and revolutionized distribution with faster boats and refrigerated rail-cars. Ever larger plantations were developed and workers were shipped in from Jamaica, Italy and even China. The banana caught the fancy of the burgeoning American consumer and today, the banana is the world's fourth most popular staple.
That said, by no means is this a banal "corporate history". The tone is highly critical. The UF tolerated no dissent and stifled unionization attempts. The company successfully dodged taxes and worked sweetheart deals by taking advantage of the Latin American tradition of the "mordida", the bribe to a public official. At its most nefarious, a democratically-elected government like Guatemala's in 1954, which was confiscating some UFW land, could be brought down by funding and supplying rebels or even arming company employees. At Santa Marta, the UF leaned on the Colombian government to break a strike, which its Army did via the machine gun. Author Peter Chapman notes this incident is the inspiration for the fictionalized account in the Maconda of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.
This book is brief at 208 pages, which makes it a quick read, though it leaves information out. I'd have appreciated more. Chapman mentions death squads but has no details, leaving the reader to surmise UF probably encouraged, if not directly ordered, some of the military dictatorships' vile deeds. I understand some artifacts of the population and cultural transfers (e.g. American baseball, Afro-Caribbean music) were left in UF's wake, although this book's brevity means these were omitted. The focus is on the Central American Banana Republics and Cuba with UF operations in the rest of the Caribbean, Colombia and Ecuador receiving only passing mention. UF was one of Castro's revolutionary justifications and it responded by supplying two of the seven ships used in the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion.
The author writes in a sarcastic, almost whimsical way. Sometimes this is quite funny. At times, it's inappropriate. I had to read pg. 159-160 twice because Chapman speculates UF might have been involved in JFK's assassination, going into a paragraph of hypothetical reasons why and a few coincidences that'd make any Grassy Knoll conspiracy theorist proud. I assume it is a tongue-in-cheek joke, but it's irresponsible because these Dallas conspiracy musings were printed in a history book.
I enjoyed the read, even if Chapman goes overboard at times. 3.5 stars.
This book has an understandably strong anti-UF tilt, but the author makes attempts at even-handedness, allowing for the corporation's technological advances, the fact it was the largest employer in Central America because it paid better than the workers could earn elsewhere, and it did some charitable works, especially in locating and restoring Mayan ruins. Some of its company towns still exist and it brought electricity and communications.
Though bananas are cheap and plentiful today, the United States and Europe had hardly seen the exotic fruit, which rots quickly, before the unlikely pairing of small-time but audacious businessmen, expat Minor Keith and a New Orleans banana trader, the Russian-born Jew Samuel Zemurray. Tiny Costa Rica, with barely 100,000 residents, wanted a railroad and after several failed attempts, President Guardia approached the trader Minor Keith about government money in exchange for a completed railroad from the capital to the sea. Keith agreed with the caveat that, like US land grant railroads, he be given jungle lands along the tracks. The railroad was built and after a few tries at different uses, Keith settled upon banana production in the adjacent lands. He also married President Guardia's daughter, cementing a United Fruit-Costa Rican alliance that would last for decades.
Bananas grew wild in small numbers in malarial jungle swamps. United Fruit settled on a specific breed of banana (the "Big Mike"), grew fantastic quantities through modern agriculture, and revolutionized distribution with faster boats and refrigerated rail-cars. Ever larger plantations were developed and workers were shipped in from Jamaica, Italy and even China. The banana caught the fancy of the burgeoning American consumer and today, the banana is the world's fourth most popular staple.
That said, by no means is this a banal "corporate history". The tone is highly critical. The UF tolerated no dissent and stifled unionization attempts. The company successfully dodged taxes and worked sweetheart deals by taking advantage of the Latin American tradition of the "mordida", the bribe to a public official. At its most nefarious, a democratically-elected government like Guatemala's in 1954, which was confiscating some UFW land, could be brought down by funding and supplying rebels or even arming company employees. At Santa Marta, the UF leaned on the Colombian government to break a strike, which its Army did via the machine gun. Author Peter Chapman notes this incident is the inspiration for the fictionalized account in the Maconda of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.
This book is brief at 208 pages, which makes it a quick read, though it leaves information out. I'd have appreciated more. Chapman mentions death squads but has no details, leaving the reader to surmise UF probably encouraged, if not directly ordered, some of the military dictatorships' vile deeds. I understand some artifacts of the population and cultural transfers (e.g. American baseball, Afro-Caribbean music) were left in UF's wake, although this book's brevity means these were omitted. The focus is on the Central American Banana Republics and Cuba with UF operations in the rest of the Caribbean, Colombia and Ecuador receiving only passing mention. UF was one of Castro's revolutionary justifications and it responded by supplying two of the seven ships used in the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion.
The author writes in a sarcastic, almost whimsical way. Sometimes this is quite funny. At times, it's inappropriate. I had to read pg. 159-160 twice because Chapman speculates UF might have been involved in JFK's assassination, going into a paragraph of hypothetical reasons why and a few coincidences that'd make any Grassy Knoll conspiracy theorist proud. I assume it is a tongue-in-cheek joke, but it's irresponsible because these Dallas conspiracy musings were printed in a history book.
I enjoyed the read, even if Chapman goes overboard at times. 3.5 stars.
February 21, 2023
took some stars off for questionable historical accuracy, blanket statements, and weird structure but solid (oftentimes borderline amusing) read on the heinous crimes of United Fruit and the role of corporations / ‘Murica🦅💣🇺🇸🔫 in shaping Latin America
January 30, 2021
A horrible legacy? In my produce aisle? It’s more common than you think
April 19, 2018
2.5 stars. With such an interesting premise, I really wanted to like this book. So much of world history in the last two centuries has been tied to the banana. But as other reviews have mentioned, the writing style leaves much to be desired. The book would vacillate between chronological order of events to relevancy of events to one another, and the book is just quite dry. I admire Chapman's effort, but wonder if a book touching on issues of horticulture, history, and geopolitical conflict might have been better managed by a team of writers (Barbara Ehrenrich and Michael Pollan come to mind). I was bored through several parts of this book, but then there would be pages that reignited my excitement, and since I was reading this for my library's reading challenge (this was my "non-fiction book about history" choice) I kept reading it even when I wanted to give up. Part of this might also have been influenced by the fact that I have "Call Me By Your Name" and "In the Distance" waiting for me...
February 17, 2011
As other reviewers have suggested, the book is fairly short and Chapman is not the world's most enthralling narrative writer. But I really enjoyed the fairly crazy way that the united fruit company dominated several countries for a century and then, basically, blew up. I particularly liked the history of the banana trade, and how UFC was an anachronistic holdover from the early periods of modern imperialism in latin america by the end of its period of dominance. In particular, I appreciated how we have, as a culture, embraced the erasure of the role of american capitalism in destroying latin america by using the term "banana republic" to mock the countries, when it was an extremely serious problem for them that the US made sure they could not overcome. Chapman gets a bit preachy at times, but this is one of those stories where both sides, told clearly, show some sides of imperial capitalism that are extremely uncomfortable.
December 19, 2019
This book started out so promisingly, then petered out about 2/3 of the way through. The writeup of the early history of the start of the company and how it brought bananas to the world was very well done, engagingly descriptive and detailed. Yet the closer it got to modern day, the amount of information provided became briefer, the writing became choppier as it jumped from topic to topic, era to era, with whole swathes of content unsatisfactorily glossed over. This book was good, and worth a read to get a baseline understanding of the start of the banana industry, but disappointingly it could have been so much more.
June 2, 2008
This was a gift from a very good friend after graduation from business school. Might have been a half-hearted joke as I'm going on to work for a berry company in Latin America, but I took it and immediately started reading like it was a manual. Fascinating history and political/business intrigue, though not VERY well written. Seems like the prose was rushed to get all the facts in, and while of course there will be a bias, the jokes are just not all that funny. I enjoyed it for it's history and lessons that we keep on re-learning about multi-nationals.
December 16, 2019
A hugely fascinating subject - United Fruit was both a product of its origins during the first gilded age (and redemption after reconstruction), and a forerunner of latter-day multinationals, showing continuities between the late nineteenth century age of globalization and ours. But while Chapman musters lots of interesting data, the narrative could have been organized a bit more coherently. Also lots of digressions, that often contained factual errors.
August 27, 2022
The author manages to take the dark, horrendous story of United Fruit, and it’s corrosive influence on Central America, and waters it down to the point of making the company seem like it’s a good, Christian mom-and-pop that’s been unfairly accused of “genocide” and “government overthrow.”
Additionally, the author confusingly demonstrates his preference for late-stage multi-national capitalism without much attempt to investigate if it was a good experience for the people living under it.
Additionally, the author confusingly demonstrates his preference for late-stage multi-national capitalism without much attempt to investigate if it was a good experience for the people living under it.
May 31, 2010
didn't know anything about the united fruit company - the prototype for the modern multinational corporation, or about the history of bananas for that matter, but it made for pretty interesting reading. Moved quickly, taught me a lot in training for jeopardy, gave a really good understanding of some of the central american dynamics under Big Banana, etc.
August 22, 2023
Bananas is a heaven and hell type of story of extremes. I say this in a political and economic sense however, it stands true that United Fruit was both a mighty angel and a hellish devil throughout its ever present legacy. This book was lent to me by a friend who had been living in Guatemala and had therefore seen a lot of what this book displays, and what the story leaves behind. I understand now his want to pass on this information. I read this book in around 2 months and have been wanting to review it ever since.
Bananas is based upon the actions of the United Fruit (UF) Company and how they turned the jungle banana into one of the world’s most popular commodities. This was thanks to their clever marketing and campaigning of the fruit, which would give way to practice used in business today, but also due to their disgraceful working conditions in the distant Central America, government operations and interference and even violent coups in the little countries that felt blessed to have a TNC bringing jobs, opportunities, education, shops, railroads and bridges. For this reason, UF could run wild in these areas, which they did, pushing all the boundaries that weren’t even known to exist. Bananas encapsulates the fluctuating battle between communism and capitalism with the Cold War being a big influence on the story. You have heard of the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 but do you know the driving inspiration that pushed it forward? It really is a demonstration of how everything is so involved, so to speak, in the government and I think the description of UF being a major hidden player in the government could be better said as a major ‘obvious’ player since the company was at the top of the government’s radar throughout the majority of presidencies.
The section that made me jump out of my bed (literally to go and show my partner) was when it was revealed that E. Howard Hunt, man of the CIA and friend of UF, had arrested a group of militants contesting UF/US efforts in Guatemala. In this particular country, UF/US were losing grip on land ownership under the new ‘communist’ leader, President Jacobo Arbenz who was trying to bring his country to economic independence from the US (and thus UF). Through propaganda, manipulation of facts and the threat of withdrawing aid from others, many countries backed the 1954 coup which saw Arbenz overthrown. A similar coup was attempted in Cuba in 1961 based on the success of Guatemala. UF cut the political spectrum in half - you can be capitalist, or communist, but you must be capitalist. With this ideology, UF asserted dominance in weaker communist enclaves. It resulted that Hunt had detained a group with the intention to kill them off but, for whatever reason, he decided to let them free. This would be revealed to be the gravest mistake as Hunt regrets that one of the captives may forever be the face of ultra-leftism: Ernesto Guevara. In this moment, with all his principles he could have stopped one of the world’s most influential acts towards country-wide communism. But, he didn’t. After this, Che headed off to join the Castro brothers in ‘La Revolución de Cuba’.
I also find it ironic that Eli Black nearly coined today’s term ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ with UF’s ‘Our Social Responsibility’, referring to the philanthropic acts offered by UF earlier in this review. I am sure that bloody battles, modern-day slave trade and land grabbing would not have looked good for the annual reports regarding UF’s CSR. It does show however, that whilst UF innovated the world of marketing (and slight indoctrination), modern day business has learnt from its history and companies have present-day pressures that push them to elevate CSR and learn from UF horrors.
The general structure of the book follows a cyclical fashion, much like a fiction book would, which was an interesting choice. As it should, the book tells the story chronologically throughout the years of continental American history. This book is purposeful: everything written is to an extent relevant in some way and the information put across is memorable to the reader. It feels worthwhile to remember this modern history. I do feel however that this is a rather ‘adult’ book, with many characters mentioned, some in small portions, and advanced words/structure used. It’s not an easy read: you have to concentrate but that is how we learn and it is that type of book so this is not necessarily a negative. Thankfully, Chapman has included a character list at the opening of the book which is genuinely useful given the story is intricate and everyone plays a part. At the end, we read the epilogue which acts like a conclusion and perhaps a warning too.
This book is a very focussed write and read. I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone with an interest in politics, economics, modern business, geography and history in that order. For people who really want to learn something more, this book is a must. It is weird that UF actually does still exist in some calmer format. It follows us sort of. I actually wrote down notes as I went reading this book because I think the information is worth remembering and that it should be a topic we talk about more. If it does come up, my friend and I will have all the answers thanks to this read.
Bananas is based upon the actions of the United Fruit (UF) Company and how they turned the jungle banana into one of the world’s most popular commodities. This was thanks to their clever marketing and campaigning of the fruit, which would give way to practice used in business today, but also due to their disgraceful working conditions in the distant Central America, government operations and interference and even violent coups in the little countries that felt blessed to have a TNC bringing jobs, opportunities, education, shops, railroads and bridges. For this reason, UF could run wild in these areas, which they did, pushing all the boundaries that weren’t even known to exist. Bananas encapsulates the fluctuating battle between communism and capitalism with the Cold War being a big influence on the story. You have heard of the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 but do you know the driving inspiration that pushed it forward? It really is a demonstration of how everything is so involved, so to speak, in the government and I think the description of UF being a major hidden player in the government could be better said as a major ‘obvious’ player since the company was at the top of the government’s radar throughout the majority of presidencies.
The section that made me jump out of my bed (literally to go and show my partner) was when it was revealed that E. Howard Hunt, man of the CIA and friend of UF, had arrested a group of militants contesting UF/US efforts in Guatemala. In this particular country, UF/US were losing grip on land ownership under the new ‘communist’ leader, President Jacobo Arbenz who was trying to bring his country to economic independence from the US (and thus UF). Through propaganda, manipulation of facts and the threat of withdrawing aid from others, many countries backed the 1954 coup which saw Arbenz overthrown. A similar coup was attempted in Cuba in 1961 based on the success of Guatemala. UF cut the political spectrum in half - you can be capitalist, or communist, but you must be capitalist. With this ideology, UF asserted dominance in weaker communist enclaves. It resulted that Hunt had detained a group with the intention to kill them off but, for whatever reason, he decided to let them free. This would be revealed to be the gravest mistake as Hunt regrets that one of the captives may forever be the face of ultra-leftism: Ernesto Guevara. In this moment, with all his principles he could have stopped one of the world’s most influential acts towards country-wide communism. But, he didn’t. After this, Che headed off to join the Castro brothers in ‘La Revolución de Cuba’.
I also find it ironic that Eli Black nearly coined today’s term ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ with UF’s ‘Our Social Responsibility’, referring to the philanthropic acts offered by UF earlier in this review. I am sure that bloody battles, modern-day slave trade and land grabbing would not have looked good for the annual reports regarding UF’s CSR. It does show however, that whilst UF innovated the world of marketing (and slight indoctrination), modern day business has learnt from its history and companies have present-day pressures that push them to elevate CSR and learn from UF horrors.
The general structure of the book follows a cyclical fashion, much like a fiction book would, which was an interesting choice. As it should, the book tells the story chronologically throughout the years of continental American history. This book is purposeful: everything written is to an extent relevant in some way and the information put across is memorable to the reader. It feels worthwhile to remember this modern history. I do feel however that this is a rather ‘adult’ book, with many characters mentioned, some in small portions, and advanced words/structure used. It’s not an easy read: you have to concentrate but that is how we learn and it is that type of book so this is not necessarily a negative. Thankfully, Chapman has included a character list at the opening of the book which is genuinely useful given the story is intricate and everyone plays a part. At the end, we read the epilogue which acts like a conclusion and perhaps a warning too.
This book is a very focussed write and read. I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone with an interest in politics, economics, modern business, geography and history in that order. For people who really want to learn something more, this book is a must. It is weird that UF actually does still exist in some calmer format. It follows us sort of. I actually wrote down notes as I went reading this book because I think the information is worth remembering and that it should be a topic we talk about more. If it does come up, my friend and I will have all the answers thanks to this read.
February 7, 2010
I learned a lot I didn't know about the history of US involvement in Central America at the beginning of the last century. But I thought the overall treatment was unsatisfyingly superficial. Would have liked more intellectual rigor.
November 21, 2017
I was interested in this topic but found the writing vague and confusing. The author didn't even clear up in the end exactly what happened to the company. He uses turns of phrase instead of just telling you what happened clearly.
March 21, 2021
Not a perfect book, but it is an interesting look into the father of multi-national conglomerates as well as the ever expanding list of countries subjected to the capitallism-imperialism of the United States in the thin veil of democracy
January 12, 2022
More of a light overview than an in-depth history. The author glazes over entire decades of atrocity-filled history in short chapters that sometimes feel like pop culture riffs. Then again white people have been so dismissive of “third world” culture for so long, this fits right in with that trend.
February 21, 2022
It is important for people to learn of the US history in Central America. Very few people realize how badly the CIA wreaked havoc on this region. This book wasn't organized the best, though - hence the 3 star rating.
July 28, 2014
A fascinating subject deadened by flawed writing.
October 1, 2018
The book I read was called Bananas!: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World, it was written by Peter Chapman. The book was published January 21st, 2008. The book’s main idea is about the empire CEO, Eli M Black had created when he purchased the United Brands/Fruit company. The book mentions how the simple importation of the, banana, can set the market on fire and how his business just boomed! It mentions how he started and how his company had started, later in the book it focused on economics and business later in the book which I found very boring. In my opinion the first half of the book was alright but the other half had just gotten so boring to read, I was expecting something a bit more exciting but all I got was numbers, business, economics, and government. Also, just the statistical part of the running a company, unless you’re interested in books about the same topic I suggest you read it, but this wasn’t a good book for me.
This book has a lot of decent examples, one I remember is near the beginning where it foreshadows the fall of the CEO and his company. The story details him going into the 44th story of the Pan-am building and him jumping. When I read this I thought about, what had to have happen for his business to fail completely and what had to happen for him to jump? Another word that I kept seeing repeatedly is “Banana Republic,” near the first couple of new paragraphs the author mentions Banana Republic, for the actual definition it was made for and not what it was modernized too. When they mentioned this name I did my own research and found that its when a nation or small state specializes in growing and exporting Bananas. The book also loves to mention how simple the Banana can completely change the way the US market can change in a good way.
Overall, this book isn’t for me. I didn't necessarily enjoy it, but at the same time it was alright, in the sense that it teaches a lesson on the inside of running a company. Eli M Black basically introduced the banana to the US market and how big of a payout he can make from it. From a rating standpoint, id give it a 2.5/5, it wasn’t the greatest, at times I was bored of the book, but it was an eye opener to say the least. I’d give it a thumbs down, like I said wasn’t the book for me, wouldn’t read again, to recommend, I’d say I would recommend to people who are interested in the business aspect or wanting to start some type of company/ business or people who want to know more about the earlier decades of economics in US and how something of a simple idea can change the market entirely. Closing thoughts, i’d say nothing else, as the book wasn’t a good one in my opinion.
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March 29, 2022After WWII the world understood tyranny and admired the idea of democratic freedom. So why did the world fall very quickly into the camps of social democracy, socialism and then be taken over by ideologists into full communism and then authoritarianism and finally into Totalitarianism.
Companies took off where nations left off. After American expansionism left off in the 19th century, companies in U.S. and other Capitalist societies bought or took over land in exchange for worthless promises or pay offs to leaders. The land they took was used for their own economic advantage at the expense of local labor and communities. Land was raped for resources worldwide for agricultural, mineral and energy resources.
The United Fruit company was just one such company but an example of which to this day has lasting effects of its actions on Central America from the West coast to the East coast. Lives have been lost through poverty and war under the cover of propaganda campaigns, money, and political connections. Tax exemptions and other tools spread these companies like a plague around our world.
Capitalism is tied to democracy and the 2 entwined has resulted in tarnishing the democratic philosophy. Global takeover of corporations that use titles like "social responsibility" may often pay off a community by "gifts" back to a nation or community just as Carnegie did years ago with his libraries instead of paying taxes the local government for hospitals and schools and at the expense of well-paid labor. But although these global corporations may have started in democracies, they exist in all types of nation states now.
What is the democratic responsibility for giving these companies the birthplace to grow and thrive as they have from the British Trading company to Amazon? Democracies much ensure that corporations pay taxes as individuals and answer to laws and responsibilities as individuals do. When democracies model how they can overcome the threat of capitalism gone awry and still create opportunity for equity, equality and opportunity for all, then the sales campaign will be finished and won for democracy worldwide. Until then, those that must strive for daily survival will rely on whoever and whatever can offer them means to provide a roof, food, water, education, safety and healthcare - whether that be autocrat, dictator, Exxon, or kleptocrat, communist, socialist, democrat or republican.
Companies took off where nations left off. After American expansionism left off in the 19th century, companies in U.S. and other Capitalist societies bought or took over land in exchange for worthless promises or pay offs to leaders. The land they took was used for their own economic advantage at the expense of local labor and communities. Land was raped for resources worldwide for agricultural, mineral and energy resources.
The United Fruit company was just one such company but an example of which to this day has lasting effects of its actions on Central America from the West coast to the East coast. Lives have been lost through poverty and war under the cover of propaganda campaigns, money, and political connections. Tax exemptions and other tools spread these companies like a plague around our world.
Capitalism is tied to democracy and the 2 entwined has resulted in tarnishing the democratic philosophy. Global takeover of corporations that use titles like "social responsibility" may often pay off a community by "gifts" back to a nation or community just as Carnegie did years ago with his libraries instead of paying taxes the local government for hospitals and schools and at the expense of well-paid labor. But although these global corporations may have started in democracies, they exist in all types of nation states now.
What is the democratic responsibility for giving these companies the birthplace to grow and thrive as they have from the British Trading company to Amazon? Democracies much ensure that corporations pay taxes as individuals and answer to laws and responsibilities as individuals do. When democracies model how they can overcome the threat of capitalism gone awry and still create opportunity for equity, equality and opportunity for all, then the sales campaign will be finished and won for democracy worldwide. Until then, those that must strive for daily survival will rely on whoever and whatever can offer them means to provide a roof, food, water, education, safety and healthcare - whether that be autocrat, dictator, Exxon, or kleptocrat, communist, socialist, democrat or republican.
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