Bananas; Biography of the Dollar; Jumbo

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, May 2008; written by Lisa Pearson.

Just in case you haven’t seen the massive cruise ships looming over town the last few weeks, let me remind you that summer is upon us. As always, the Ketchikan Public Library is ready and waiting to provide you with your warm-weather entertainment and informational needs. For those of you who are hesitant to venture into the downtown area during the full tourist onslaught, I have two things to say: ‘Third Avenue bypass’ and ‘covered parking’.

By using the scenic bypass and coming into the downtown area via Bawden Street you can avoid almost all pedestrians. Also, there is additional parking under the Centennial parking lot that is not only covered, it is rarely full. So don’t let summer crowds and congested parking scare you away from using your library. As far as library selections go, we are continuing to put new books out on the shelf on a daily basis (as well as audiobooks, videos and music). We have a few new nonfiction titles that are particularly unusual.

“Bananas: how the United Fruit Company shaped the world” is an interesting book about corporate influence and the crushing drive to make a dollar. Author Peter Chapman goes all the way back to the beginnings of this historic company – founded in 1899 – to show its rise and fall. Along the way, he explains how the exotic banana was marketed and manipulated into the grocery store staple it is today (can we all sing the Chiquita Banana song?). He also details the unfair labor practices, racist corporate outlook and thuggish behavior that inspired Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s famous novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude”. The United Fruit Company was involved in the Bay of Pigs, an invasion of Honduras, a bloody coup in Guatemala, and purchased sugar from Fidel Castro’s father. It would be difficult to truly understand or appreciate Latin American history without knowing the history of the United Fruit Company, and this is a very enjoyable way to learn more.

“Biography of the Dollar: how the mighty buck conquered the world and why it’s under siege” sounds like the worst type of required reading in an Economics class, but it is in fact a very readable, fascinating look at how our currency works in the world market. Author Craig Karmin, a reporter for the “Wall Street Journal”, does an excellent job of not only making the subject easily understandable but also interesting. He begins with tense investors and traders waiting to see if the new chairman of the Federal Reserve – Ben Bernanke – will raise interest rates. The book then moves its focus to a pocket of calm in the storm: currency hedge fund FX Concepts, which manages $13 billion in assets. This brief biography of FX Concepts introduces the reader into the world of currency trading and from there the book goes on to look at how the American dollar became the common denominator in international trade and finance. Who determines what the dollar is actually worth and what are the global factors that influence this worth? What is the future outlook for the dollar and the American economy in general? Read Karmin’s book and you will gain a much better understanding of this complicated subject.

“Jumbo: this being the true story of the greatest elephant in the world” is a sad little book about a truly iconic figure. It is also a story about deep friendship and affection between the elephant and his keeper. Author Paul Chambers does a great job of researching Jumbo’s life as the most popular exhibit in the London Zoo and then the star of P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth. A celebrity of the Victorian era and the inspiration for the Disney movie “Dumbo”, this poor elephant led a sad life in cramped conditions. Although his keeper seemed to have a real love for Jumbo, and sobbed at his death, there was little understanding at the time of an elephant’s need for social contact and you get the impression that Jumbo’s life was lonely. The manner of his death is outright depressing, but I won’t spoil the ending of this engrossing book. It might make you think twice about taking your children on an elephant ride, however.