作者Julie Angus受到叙利亚祖先与橄榄的亲密关系的启发，开启了一次环绕地中海的航行，希望解开对众人所说这意义重大的水果的秘密。在丈夫与十个月大的儿子的陪伴下，作者从古树上采集样本，以确定第一棵橄榄树的起源地；享用墨黑色橄榄酱和淋上橄榄油的鳕鱼以及许多其他美食；见证了希腊橄榄的收获并参观克里特岛上可能是世界上最古老的橄榄树。她得出的结论是这个最具影响力和不可抗拒的水果的迷人历史和传记。

关于作者：

Julie Angus是Rowboat in a Hurricane: My Amazing Journey Across a Changing Ocean的作者。她曾获得国家地理年度最佳探索家奖项（National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Award）。她拥有分子生物学的硕士学位，目前住在加拿大。

好评：

"A well-researched paean to the magical olive, a scrumptious romp through history, agronomy, DNA science, cuisine, business, medicine, religion, and politics - all told through a young couple's Mediterranean sailing and travel adventures with their toddler … This entertaining olive saga covers it all." -Mark Pendergrast, author of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Changed Our World

"A fascinating exploration for olive lovers, foodists and culinary adventurers alike. Olive Odyssey is yet another impressive conquest on Angus’s enviable list of super-human accomplishments." -Bob Blumer, gastronaut and Food Network host

"[Olive Odyssey] is an engaging mix of history, food travelog, and botany lesson … There is much to enjoy here, especially for foodies and armchair historians." -Library Journal

"It is a pleasure to try to keep up with this book; like its author, it covers an enormous amount of territory." -Christopher Bakken, Wall Street Journal

"Angus excels in tracing the history of the olive: any botanist or cook will walk away from Olive Odyssey well-informed on the plant and its products." -Georgia Straight

"A deeply informative biography of the olive, a versatile fruit that has played a huge role in the history and development of civilization." -Vancouver Sun

"Olive Odyssey has many strengths: its contribution to scientific and historical research on olives, good food and travel writing, a sense of humour and an eye for detail, and a sense of adventure and exploration.." -Literary Review of Canada

"[An] unfailingly interesting odyssey." -Philip Marchand, National Post

"Guaranteed to move readers from casual consumers of olive products to enthusiastic aficionados, Angus's book, which sparkles with the sights, smells, tastes and stories of the Mediterranean olive, is as informative as it is infectious." -Publishers Weekly