The Orchid Thief A True Story of Beauty and Obsession

Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean s] gifts in full bloom. The New York Times Book Review

Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing. Los Angeles Times

Orlean s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures. The Washington Post Book World

Orlean s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description. Boston Sunday Globe

A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great. The Wall Street Journal

Fascinating . . . a rare and exotic tale that shows a journalist s gifts in full bloom. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Orlean is a superb tour guide through the loony subculture of Florida s orchid fanciers, and a writer whose sentences can glow like rare blooms, as when she reports that the air above an orchid swamp s sinkholes has the slack, drapey weight of wet velvet. Time

A zestfully informative and entertaining read. Orlean s writerly verve handily matches the passions of her orchid-lovers, in a book that positively blooms with exotic sights and eccentric personalities. The Seattle Times

Uproarious or understated, [Orlean] often writes with a smile on her lips. And she s game for anything. You have to admire an author who absolutely hates mucking around in scum-covered, alligator-infested waters, with companions as dubious as a work party from a local prison, yet does so to capture the story. And to deliver a priceless line: I hate hiking with convicts carrying machetes. In Orlean s position, hate was a perfectly understandable emotion. From where I sat, safe and dry in the reading chair of my orchid-free living room, a different feeling arose: Love at first read. San Diego Union-Tribune

An eccentric, illuminating, hilarious book that is as bewitching as the rare specimens it describes. New York Daily News

The delicate beauty of exotic blossoms inspires eccentric collectors and swamp-smart suppliers alike in this true-life South Florida smuggling mystery. People ( Worth a Look feature)