Journalism

Chasing The Monsoon is a must-read for travel enthusiasts who enjoy exploring new cultures and regions. The book takes the reader on a journey through India in search of the monsoon, offering a glimpse into the country's rich cultural heritage and diverse landscape. Alexander Frater's vivid descriptions of the people and places he encounters, along with his personal anecdotes, make this a unique and engaging read. The book is also great for those interested in meteorology and weather patterns, as it provides in-depth knowledge of the monsoon.

A classic of reportage, Oranges was first conceived as a short magazine article about oranges and orange juice, but the author kept encountering so much irresistible information that he eventually found that he had in fact written a book. It contains sketches of orange growers, orange botanists, orange pickers, orange packers, early settlers on Florida's Indian River, the first orange barons, modern concentrate makers, and a fascinating profile of Ben Hill Griffin of Frostproof, Florida who may be the last of the individual orange barons. McPhee's astonishing book has an almost narrative progression, is immensely readable, and is frequently amusing. Louis XIV hung tapestries of oranges in the halls of Versailles, because oranges and orange trees were the symbols of his nature and his reign. This book, in a sense, is a tapestry of oranges, too―with elements in it that range from the great orangeries of European monarchs to a custom of people in the modern Caribbean who split oranges and clean floors with them, one half in each hand.