Americans today enjoy access to a mind-boggling variety of foods. That is partly due to the work of David Fairchild, who pioneered efforts to discover and important tens of thousands of new plants to the United States as a plant explorer. This is his story.

There are several biographies of David Fairchild, such as those by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Amanda Harris, and Daniel Stone. But I highly recommend reading Fairchild's autobiographical works, which include:

The World Was My Garden (1938)

Exploring for Plants (1930)

The World Grows Round My Door (1947)