Shannon Costello

I had decided that my lack of understanding of economics and trade and agriculture interfered with my story line in my (ahem) novel, so I was in the library hunting for a book that would rectify this weakness when I bumped into this one.  The book is about a huge corporation known as the United Fruit Company and how its unrestrained capitalism caused all kinds of problems, particularly in Central America.

Curiously enough, it overlapped with a book I had recently read about a CIA guy, Our Man in Mexico. Both devoted time to the coup in Guatemala in the 50s, but while first book accused the CIA of arranging the whole thing, the second book implicated United Fruit for its involvement.  Either way it sounds like the US was way too involved in destabilizing a country that pretty much never recovered from the shock.  Ouch.

Turns out the term “banana republic” was coined by O. Henry in his novel (apparently a collection of interrelated stories?) Of Cabbages and Kings. According to Peter Chapman the fictitious fruit company in O. Henry’s novel represents United Fruit and the setting is an imaginary Central American republic…I’ve simply got to read that book and find out more.

He mentioned a guy named Edward Bernays who wrote a book called Propaganda.  Bernays worked for United Fruit and helped shape their image.  From what Chapman said and from the paragraphs I read on Amazon, it sounds like a truly horrifying book.  I can’t wait to read it.  Neither book is available in my local library system so I broke down and ordered them.

In the meantime I will have to content myself with a history of Central America (in English) and Breve Historia de Guatemala. In my ideal world, this is the way I read, one book suggesting another…

Back to Bananas. I have been inspired to actually eat a banana.  It is sitting on my countertop right now, the first one I have purchased in years, perhaps.  Yuck.  We’ll see.

Republicans are supposed to be pro-business.  This book is certainly not pro- big unregulated business (oh, and P. Chapman is British).  His whole point is that letting companies like these flourish without limits has had and will have major negative ramifications.  I think I see his point.  I have to say, though, that I thought he was so disgusted with United Fruit that he did not make his case as well as he might have in spots…the bias kind of muddied the waters.  I expected to come out of the book even more disgusted with what Chavez would call US imperialism, but instead I came out just needing more information.  I need to read something with a different perspective- which reminds me that both of these books were written by journalists.