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I was reading that the bananas we eat today (Cavendish) weren't particularly popular until the 50s, when the more popular Gros Michel variety was virtually wiped out by a nasty disease. Apparently Gros Michel was much sweeter and had a different flavour and texture.

There are several interesting articles on the subject online, and Amazon lists a couple of books that look interesting. What I'm looking for here is primary sources - things written around the time the transition was taking place, describing people's personal reactions to the new bananas.

By personal reaction, I mean I'm not interested in sales data or whether executives thought people would like them - I want to know whether regular people noticed the change and, if so, what they said about it.

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If there are books already, is there a way to look at what they used as sources and go from there? – MichaelF Feb 13 '12 at 12:48
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Quite possibly, but I don't really want to buy the books just to look at the bibliography. And there may be references to this in other odd places - a novel, letter, or magazine article of the time could mention it in passing without being specifically about bananas. I'm hoping someone can point me directly to what I'm looking for. – Rose Ames Feb 13 '12 at 15:38
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Why buy when your local library might have them? I don't check much on Amazon (due to personal reasons) but if they don't list the bibliography there then maybe it's online somewhere else. I'm just trying to note, if there are books out there that might have something on a subject, they might list primary sources that are viable it's just a matter of getting to them. – MichaelF Feb 13 '12 at 16:10
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This is a really creative and thoughtful question. The first time I saw it I thought "What an absurd question," but now after reading it again I realize that you asked a really specific and unique question. I had a history professor who was obsessed with food and how it affected society, but sadly he is not here. I wish I could help you out. – ihtkwot♦ Mar 1 '12 at 2:03

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