Balzac said that "behind every great fortune, there is a great crime." For some fortunes, there is more than one. Little have we known that behind every humble banana, there is a great story, some great crimes, and certainly some great characters. Sam Zemurry, the man who brought the banana to America, was a shadowy figure whose presence impacted the creation of the State of Israel, The Cold War, and the rise of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara...all from the simple banana.
Best selling author
Rich Cohen tells the story in
The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King
My conversation with Rich Cohen: