Log in

View Full Version : Book all about bananas?


scwritinglady
09-24-2008, 10:39 PM
Hey ya'll! This is my first post. My dear hubby (jcderrick) has introduced me to the fun world of banana growing :-)

I was hoping to find a good book just about bananas. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!:2704:

pitangadiego
09-24-2008, 11:52 PM
There really isn't much, sad to say. Stokes Nursery has a short one. Your best source of info is this forum and figs4fun home (http://webebananas.com)

Gabe15
09-25-2008, 12:25 AM
Welcome!

There is actually a couple really good ones, but they might be more technical than what you are looking for. But for rather comprehensive books on bananas, look for N.W. Simmonds' "Bananas" (most recent addition was published in 1987) and "The Evolution of the Bananas" (from 1962). Together, they cover in rather great depth things like: history of the plants in general, some ethnobotany, history of the commercial fruit trade, growing requirements, botany, evolution, genetics, taxonomy, morphology and many more areas. They are usually fairly expensive though and you would need to find them online.

If you are looking for just a general, more hobbyist type book, then as pitangadiego mentioned, the book "Bananas You Can Grow" from Stokes is a good one to start with, though it has many technical errors. Also there is "The Complete Book of Bananas" by W.O. Lessard, though I must say its very far from"complete", filled with errors and not worth the normally high end list price in my opinion.

Bob
09-25-2008, 07:23 AM
Good post! Some of the experts here should collaborate on something. I at least would snap it up in a flash.

Richard
09-25-2008, 11:49 AM
Our own Pito (inkcube (http://www.bananas.org/member-inkcube.html)) is currently finishing his passiflora book and working on a banana book. See post: http://www.bananas.org/f9/congrats-inkcube-3610.html#post29909

JCDerrick
09-25-2008, 02:47 PM
Some of the experts here should collaborate on something. I at least would snap it up in a flash.

I agree, I'd love to see something from the folks here. I've learned a lot in the few weeks I've been here. POD makes books easier than ever to publish now - even in color. Tasha and I used Lulu for a while, a little pricey, but good quality.

Thanks for the suggestions above too.

pitangadiego
09-25-2008, 09:16 PM
I have the W O Lessard book, and was very underwhelmed,.esp for the $$$$.

scwritinglady
09-25-2008, 09:32 PM
Thank you all for the replies! I was hoping for just a hobby gardener's guide. Thank heaven for the internet.