As a sailor in northern New England, and a Bostonian familiar with Long Wharf where tall ships still anchor, Soleri’s work is one of a dying shipping industry on the verge of diversity, as well as longevity of US Northeast business. Although, I appreciate the comments by my classmates that this is a history of ‘vassalages’, capitalist feigns and US government intervention, I also see Soleri’s study as an extension of Kopytoff’s article as a commoditization process.
From Soleri’s study, “Biographies of things can make salient what might otherwise remain obscure.” (Location 1489 Kindle) rings true. Soleri’s balanced work, as Nadine reports is a great effort. Soleri accomplishes what he sets out to do, write the biography of a thing in a particular location. It may even be called a cultural hegemony that is easily read.
Unlike the Busheli and Read article, Soleri fulfills more of what Kopykoff calls a “sphere of exchange”. The exchange technology as Kopykoff explains from the Braudel perspective is more of what Soleri achieves. Bucheli and Read pave the way for an overall look at the thing - banana commodity, but it is Soleri that gives us the historiographic representation of a ‘banana culture’.
The complexity of the history of banana culture in Honduras meets so many of the elements of the Kopykoff expose. With perhaps one exception, and that is that Soleri dares to resist the polar opposites and comment on the future: “agriculture and commodity markets to value the afro-biodiversity and human labor upon which agricultural production has depended.” (p. 244)
Presentism in historical perspective can endanger the worth of a work. Kudos to Soluri for presenting a possible precursor to our current globalization era.
“I don’t buy green bananas any more, I am too old.” - Lou Holtz
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