Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World

The Washington Post Is Peeved. To them this is an America bashing book, the United Fruit Company is the weapon, and everything terrible they did is an exaggeration. Amazing how we just can't come to grips with the Truth: The US is not what we're told it is, But Keep Believing!!!This is a very good read, right up until it gets to the Epilogue, when Chapman gets carried away and buries the central point of his epilogue in page after page of redundant examples. He could have written a more scholarly tome, along the lines of "Bloodlands" which documented the killing fields of Stalin and Hitler and the murder of 25,000,000 to 31,000,000 people before and during World War Two. That thick book left no killing unnoticed, no detail unexamined and managed to wear out the charity of the reader. This is a better approach.The United Fruit Company was one of the first of the multinational corporations with aspirations to colonial empire (although as the book points out, in fact that would actually be the British East India Company, of "Pirates of the Caribbean" fame these days). The discovery that the banana could be grown in the tropics, shipped to America and eventually sold cheaper than domestic apples and pears, and still be profitable, came with the end of the US civil war and the end of slavery. Sadly, the business model of the antebellum South went South to Banana Land, where the idea of spending company money on things like labor and jungle clearance was thought to be bad business. Black workers were hired in Jamaica and elsewhere in the islands and paid almost nothing when they arrived. Local governments were coerced to pay for railroads that often never got built, or not where they would do the government or its people any good, and large chunks of land, far more than United Fruit actually needed or used, were ceded to United Fruit, as it came to be known, or, well, governments fell. People were killed. Strikes were settled by whips, clubs and whenever necessary, bullets. United Fruit liked to boast "We never called in the Marines" but don't take that as a virtue; United Fruit was a DIY company, up until the very end when they belatedly realized that the business model was impractical and that they could turn the entire operations over to locals, contract shipping services, and voila! Same profits, less hassle. Except the bananas kept getting sick, going extinct, and faster and faster and faster...Oh, and did I mention Hitler? Lots of American businessmen, including Alfred P Sloan of GM, and Mr. Koch (father of Charles and David) did business with Hitler. But United Fruit not only traded with Hitler, they did so to the exclusion of the United States---convincing their banana republic governments to buy Nazi, and not buy American, as Nazis paid in company stock, not cash, so it was the only way to open the German market for United Fruit. And they got away with it. This is the most discouraging recurring theme of the book: They ALWAYS got away with it. Always.Nice people, huh? And after all these years the Washington Post, in the above review, still can't get over it!The tone of this slim volume is breezy, a bit cheeky. Chapman discusses the subject, he doesn't belabor it. As a book it's more of an introduction than an in depth study of the Company, but there's a lot here none the less, and the most discouraging aspect of it all is the immunity the Company enjoyed almost up to the very end---like Al Capone, it was the small things once overlooked that suddenly jumped up and fatally bit them. When he tries to end the book by pointing out that United Fruit has become the model for the excesses of Multinational Corporations (Too Big To Fail) today, and that our stupid willingness to trust them lets them get away with murder, he gets carried away and almost bores the reader comatose. But the point is made nonetheless: History is repeating itself, or rhyming, or whatever, and we should really be asking more questions---questions of even THIS company where you're contemplating buying this book---how do they treat their warehouse workers? Should we be concerned? Are we going to let them get away with it?I recommend this book to those interested in history and who know little about United Fruit, if you've already read other works, this may not be enough for you.

I bought this book because I grew up in a few of the banana Republics and wanted to learn more about the United Fruit Co. octopus. The book was better than anticipated. If you are interested in the history of Central America between 1865 and 2000, this book is essential. If your interest in International conglomerates, this book should be required reading. If you have a passing interest in how the banana became such a popular food stuff, you will find the book interesting. If your interest is in how the US deals with the politics of smaller, poorer countries, this book will be educational and perhaps will make you a little angry.It is a popular history and a fairly easy read, but it is well written and is packed with a great deal of information.

"Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World" by Peter Chapman is a sardonic history of the archetypal multinational corporation, United Fruit Company. The articulately researched book benefits from Mr. Chapman's decades of interest in the subject, including a student thesis written at the University of Sussex in 1975 and later as a news correspondent based in Central America. Possessing a mature understanding of business and politics, the intelligent and witty British author proves to be a perfect fit for the project; his vivid writing style and thoughtful analysis conveys to us a colorful but vitally important piece of history that is understood to be highly relevant to our contemporary world.Mr. Chapman discusses how the banana became a consumer staple and cultural symbol due to United Fruit's masterful coordination of its massive production, marketing and distribution systems. Mr. Chapman recounts the exploits of the company's founders and their numerous adventures in power politics both in Central America and in the U.S., laying bare a particular form of capitalism where the company and state repeatedly colluded against the interests of the working class and was not reluctant to use violence when necessary. We learn how United Fruit was a leader in the art of corporate branding to win consumer loyalty. However, as the United Fruit's extreme labor practices drove its peasant laborer into desperation and rebellion, the U.S. government turned against the company and helped lay the groundwork for its demise.In the Epilogue, Mr. Chapman brilliantly connects the "jungle capitalism" that was exemplified by United Fruit with the neoliberalism of today. Mr. Chapman explains that United Fruit insisted on low taxes and deregulation, exploited its labor force, abused its environmental resources, insinuated itself with the politically powerful and falsely proclaimed its social responsibility well before others recognized these tactics to be so-called corporate best practices. The author astutely concludes that as globalization has taken hold in the post-Cold War era, the Banana Republic way of life has increasingly become the norm, with profound consequences for us all.I highly recommend this entertaining and engaging book to everyone.

GREAT READ ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE WORLDS' GREATEST FRUIT AND FOREIGN POLICY!!!!!

Absolutely loved this book! The author does a phenomenal job in outlining the history of the United fruit company, as well as discussing the role it played in destabilizing small and economically “weak” countries in Central America. It also provides a historical account of the influence UFC has on the establishment of the modern banana market. I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking to explore the History of the “commodity “ we now know as bananas.

I first heard this story from Emeterio Perez Cornelia, former Chief Engineer on a banana ship. We sailed to Corinto, Nicaragua, twice, together, in 1980, taking wheat for the ‘Food For Peace’ program, after the Sandinistas took over. He was from Vera Cruz, Mexico.

This book was very poorly structured. Yes, the writer literally jams a number of important facts, figures, and points in the book (that could easily be found in Wikipedia) however his writing skills are extremely bland. Aside from the stale writing skills, I must emphasize that the way this book is constructed is very confusing. It repeatedly jumps from topic to topic within the same chapter, eventually distracting you from the overall point.You can see the writer invests heavily into the book with certain facts that educate the reader on said topic, but its written more like an essay rather than a book, a poorly written essay. The writer tends to lose focus on the overall point and brings up points in a different chapter to support his ideas, resulting in distraction.I would like to add that he barely scratches the surface on how United Fruit affects the internal environment of Central America and puts much more emphasis on the US.

This book was referred to in Che's illustrated book so I decided to buy it to get a better understanding of the feeling the South American had at the time with regards to capitalism. This book provides an overview of why there is a distrust with capitalism and how United Fruit Company has shaped the current financial market and its approach.

This is another excellent book from Peter Chapman. It is well researched and he makes the subject informative and as interesting as his other books.I highly recommend this book.

This very well written and fascinating history of America,s shameful past is right on the mark in view of the current problems with major U.S. corporations, lobbyists and other negative influences like the NRA. America needs to wake up and start worrying about the enemy within and not necessarily communism abroad. The story of the United Fruit company is an example of what should NOT be happening in today.s more enlightened world. Globalisation has brought many advantages to countries but also alot of new responsiblities to improve conditions in the so called third world and not just exploit their resources human and other. This book points this out very clearly.

j'aurai pu mettre 0 étoile, ceci ne concerne en aucun cas le contenu fort intéressant, mais plutôt l'éditeur, en fait c'est une arnaque éditoriale!! c'est la copie exacte du livre que j'avais et qui s'intitule "the jungle capitalists".... et aucune mention ne précisait que c'était le même livre, dommage!!