Mark Lewis: Review of Rich Cohen's "The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King"

Amid the vast outpouring of literature about America’s banana empire in the Caribbean, no one seems to have written a full-fledged biography of the remarkable Samuel Zemurray, who guided the United Fruit Company through perilous times. Rich Cohen has rectified that oversight. Cohen, the author of “Tough Jews: Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams” and “Sweet and Low: A Family Story,” now gives us the fascinating tale of “Sam the Banana Man,” a poor Russian Jew who emigrated to Alabama as a teenager and ended up controlling much of Central America.

After starting out as a humble banana peddler in Mobile in the 1890s, Zemurray moved up to become a major importer in New Orleans, shipping in fruit from his firm’s plantations in Honduras. When the Honduran president, Miguel Dávila, placed obstacles in his path in 1910, Zemurray simply hired some mercenaries, orchestrated a sham revolution and replaced Dávila with a more compliant president. Cohen duly condemns Zemurray’s colonialist arrogance but also admires his chutzpah. At times, Cohen waxes almost Kiplingesque as he celebrates the man and his myrmidons....