From its niineteenth-century origins, to its rise to success via the mass-marketing of the banana as the original fast food and its links to the U.S. government, an account of the rise and fall of United Fruit Company shows how the corporation blazed the trail of global capitalism while documenting its devastating impact on Central America's 'banana republics.'

Shows how the example of the banana importer United Fruit set the precedent for the institutionalized greed of multinational companies. This book tells the tale of big business, lies and power to show how United Fruit pioneered the growth of globalization and - in doing so - has helped farm the banana to the point of extinction.