[An] insightful history of the company . . . [A] witty, energetic narrative

Finely crafted . . . Chapman's broad-brush approach to history gives it a vigorous and entertaining narrative drive . . . Chapman's achievement is to make us realise what a long and complex moral journey even something as seemingly innocent as a banana has made to our fruit bowls
— Mark Cocker

If you only read a handful of non-fiction books this year, [Bananas] is among your recommended five portions

Engagingly told . . . Delightful cameos of Carmen Miranda, Andy Warhol and Evelyn Waugh . . . Best is Chapman's account of the precarious ecology of the modern banana

The term banana republic has become so divested of meaning that it's been adopted by a mid-range clothing chain. Its sobering reality is spelled out in this clear, dryly witty account of United Fruit

Excellent, darkly humorous expose

A tale of corporate skulduggery, an irreversible lesson in agricultural folly and a musing on the banana's place on our collective palate . . . An impressive indictment of a deeply flawed corporation

Any tinpot regime these days tends to get called a banana republic. We have to remember they were real, vicious and bloody regimes set up and toppled at the behest of US fruit companies. Those corporations gave globalisation a bad name before we even used the term, and Peter Chapman's racy but erudite read constantly makes you wonder how much has changed

A fast-paced and shocking romp through the pioneer spirit of globalisation
— MARK THOMAS

Offers a compelling cautionary tale of the evils of overmighty corporations and untrammeled globalisation

A gripping story of the ebbs and flows of US capitalism

A powerful example from the past . . . a century-long tale of plunder, bribery, corruption, labour abuse, death squads, military coups and war

Peter Chapman is a journalist and writer, and a former BBC foreign correspondent in South America. He works for the Financial Times as an editor and writer, and lives in London.