Russell Fielding is prophetic in identifying breadfruit’s potential for improving food security for our world. Here on the small Pacific Island of Guam, we have embraced these strategies on breadfruit in our struggle for greater self-sufficiency.
- Robert Bevacqua, University of Guam,
A fascinating exploration of the intersections among natural and cultural history. Breadfruit's nourishing, troubled, and inspiring histories and futures are brought to vivid life in these pages. Through engaging and deeply researched stories and site visits, Fielding reveals the life-giving relationships among people and plants.
- David George Haskell, biologist and two-time Pulitzer-finalist author of <i>Sounds Wild and Broken</i>, <i>The Songs of Trees</i>, and <i>The Forest Unseen</i>,
This book is a valuable contribution to understanding breadfruit and its global significance. Russell Fielding’s interdisciplinary approach yields thought-provoking, nuanced analysis of the socioeconomic, environmental, and biological factors that affect breadfruit's potential to enhance food and nutrition security. Recommended particularly for professionals in sustainable agriculture and development as well as readers interested in neglected and underutilized food plants.
- Laura Roberts-Nkrumah, University of the West Indies,
Russell Fielding is an infectious optimist, writing with a spirit of adventure, and this proved to be an entertaining and even joyful experience.
Caribbean Compass
Russell Fielding tells these stories and many others, exploring breadfruit’s fascinating global history and varied present-day uses. Bringing together extensive research and vivid travelogues, including learning directly from local agriculturists, chefs, scientists, and holders of traditional knowledge, he provides an immersive narrative of breadfruit’s contributions. Fielding argues that breadfruit’s history comprises two journeys: first, from its origins in Southeast Asia across the Pacific; and second, its transplantation to the Caribbean. Today, a third journey is taking place, one that is spreading breadfruit throughout the world.
Engagingly written and compellingly argued, this book draws timely lessons from breadfruit’s past to forecast its future potential.
A Note About Language
Part I. The Pacific
1. The Giving Tree
2. Charismatic Megafauna
3. The Treeness of Life
4. Awful and Lovely
5. The Wondrous Food of the Land
Part II. The Caribbean
6. A Dish de Résistance
7. An Idea Whose Time Had Come
8. No Poem About Breadfruit
9. Fruits of the Creole Kind
10. Roast or Fry
Part III. The World
11. The Second-Best Time to Plant a Tree
12. Super Food
13. Pushing Latitude
14. Two Trees
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index