---
product_id: 12581486
title: "Bananas: An American History"
brand: "virginia scott jenkins"
price: "B/.63"
currency: PAB
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
url: https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/12581486-bananas-an-american-history
store_origin: PA
region: Panama
---

# Bananas: An American History

**Brand:** virginia scott jenkins
**Price:** B/.63
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Bananas: An American History by virginia scott jenkins
- **How much does it cost?** B/.63 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.pa](https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/12581486-bananas-an-american-history)

## Best For

- virginia scott jenkins enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted virginia scott jenkins brand quality
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## Description

Bananas: An American History

## Images

![Bananas: An American History - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51NocKvKJwL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    This IS the History of America...
  

*by M***O on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 27, 2003*

That might sound a tad weird, but the book, by following the history of the banana, also follows America's history in showing us how the banana created developments in transportation, fed international trade in South America, created the health campaigns within the US, brought about marketing designed to create a demand for bananas and the increase in the public's interest in the tropics.  The banana was also a weapon against communism and built us an American Empire.  BOW BEFORE THE MIGHTY BANANA!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A good book
  

*by T***K on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 11, 2009*

The book is brand new and I was with the Panama with American for bananas gurading the train did kill a guy for burning the bananas on te train. All of you should read the book is very good.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Yes! We have the cultural history of bananas!
  

*by M***L on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 25, 2001*

Who would have thought there was so much to say about the modern love affair between America and bananas? I should have known it, though, for at Mathcamp the staff had entire wars based on bananas and the pilfering thereof. We snuck extras out of the cafeteria, hid them in refrigerators, even wrote our names on the peels in a feeble attempt to secure a personal, steady supply. Alas, it was not to be. How did this miracle fruit go from being an exotic food item for the rich to the universal snack? Jenkins tells us how, in this very thoroughly researched book. Pretty much anything you want to know about bananas in the 20th century is here: medical attitudes, recipes, social status, trade wars, banana jokes ("I'm sorry, I can't hear you -- I've got a banana in my ear.") - you name it, it's in here, which is surprising for such a relatively trim book. She's got a slew of references in the back, should you ever wish to check her sources; for the less academic of us, there's also an extensive list of banana songs.Bananas are such a workaday fruit, we forget how important they have been in reflecting society. With each new medical fad, bananas reinvent themselves as a perfect food; during the period where dirty fruit was a concern, the thick peel of the banana was a boon; when vitamins, minerals, and proteins were seen as important, bananas were found to have such things in abundance; when high-calories and high-fat were a concern, bananas were found to be an energy-full, low-fat snack. Even stranger, at one point in history, bananas were considered a treatment for celiac disease (an extreme form of gluten-intolerance - so basically all breads and grains are inedible to such children, and many died due to malnutrition); duringWorld War II, during which much of the banana supply was cut off, there were stories of frantic parents mobilizing entire towns to round up banana supplies for their sick children, sure that their childrenwould die without bananas. And yet, in just a generation previous, parents had been warned against giving =any= raw fruits or vegetables to children under the age of 7. The chapter in which this fascinatingmaterial resides is called "Peril and Panacea", which provides a prismatic view of the changing medical atmosphere in America in the 20th century. A few other details which I found interesting: there were banana cookbooks, one of the recipes being for "Bananas and Bacon" - I kid you not. There's even a picture of it in the book. As well, much of the editorial cartoons and jokesinvolving banana peels reflected anti-immigrant sentiment, once bananas had become so cheap even the newly arrived poor could afford to eat them. Of course, there are a couple of obligatory "bananaas phallus" remarks (explaining why proper young women were to use a knife and fork to eat the offending fruit), but they do not overwhelm. Sometimes a banana is just a banana.The only other fruit that could possibly have had as much impact on the American psyche is the apple (well, maybe the orange). Though this is a history book, it is far from dry, and Jenkins lets off a couplezingers of her own. If you've ever eaten a banana or know someone who has, this book is for you; so I guess that means about everyone. I have no idea, then, why this isn't at the top of the bestseller list.

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*Product available on Desertcart Panama*
*Store origin: PA*
*Last updated: 2026-01-23*