Summary of Rich Cohen's The Fish That Ate the Whale

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 Sam Zemurray, the man who created the banana, was born in 1877 in the region of western Russia known as Bessarabia. He grew up on a wheat farm in a flat country ringed by hills. He went to America in 1892 to establish himself and send for his family.

#2 Sam was extremely ambitious, and he knew exactly how to get ahead. He believed in staying close to the action, and in learning from those who had already made it. He was simple, earthy, and he loved Selma, Alabama.

#3 When they had saved some money, many of these men opened stores, which meant moving all that merchandise under a roof in a town along their route. They were careful to only open one store per town, as they worried about attracting the wrong kind of attention.

#4 Sam Zemurray, the man who would become the richest man in the world, was a tin merchant. He was employed by a peddler who was less tin merchant than peddler, sharing a piece of chocolate with the boy. He then decided to travel to Mobile and buy a supply of bananas to bring back to Selma.