Bananas are among the world’s most consumed and traded fruits, yet few appreciate the complex history, scientific intrigue, and global implications bound up in this seemingly simple food. In his meticulously researched work, Dan Koeppel transports readers through the banana’s journey—from wild Asian jungles to the grocery shelves of every continent. The narrative weaves together botany, economics, geopolitics, and the mounting environmental and social challenges threatening the banana’s future. Koeppel’s account reveals a fruit at the epicenter of colonial exploitation, scientific innovation, and urgent agricultural crisis, making the banana a surprising lens through which to explore globalization and...