Fair Bananas is much more than the first detailed look into the world of fair trade bananas – it is the most comprehensive book on the global banana industry available today. Frundt's impressive discussion revolves around what appears to be a relatively simple question: how do we get to something resembling a ‘fair banana’? Neither the question nor the answer is easy, however, and both require us to understand how the banana industry became so profoundly unfair in the first place. And, as Frundt shows, even once we understand what went wrong, there is no agreement around how to move forward, or even about what fair trade means.

For some, fair trade requires overturning the capitalist system and reversing the unequal terms of trade between Northern consumers and Southern producers. For others, it means restoring or rebuilding a tariff/quota system that protects small farmers. Others want a system that provides just wages and working conditions, protects the environment, and helps build local communities. Ultimately, for Frundt, the primary concern is less about coming up with a definition of a fair banana that we can all agree upon and more about building alliances between farmers, workers, consumers and activist NGOs. It is through those alliances, and the struggles they embody, that fair trade has emerged and can be realised in the future.

Fair Bananas consists of 15 chapters and ultimately touches on just about every aspect of the banana industry from the late 1800s to the present. It is amazing that Frundt is able to pull this off in a coherent and concise way while charting a path forward. The book begins with two hypotheses. First, Frundt posits that more and more people now agree that those who grow and pack bananas ought to receive a living wage in a healthy environment. We may not agree on a precise definition of fair trade, let alone the path to get there, but there is a broad consensus among growing sectors in both the North and South that we need a better banana. Second, Frundt hypothesises not only that this consensus is emerging, but also that through unified action these groups – including farmers, workers, consumers and activists – can achieve this objective. In reality, these are less hypotheses than analytical entries into an argument that collective action can produce a better banana. Fair Bananas is ultimately an optimistic book, but one that is written by someone who has a clear sense of the obstacles ahead.

Frundt begins with a discussion of corporate power within the industry, moving from the early history of the banana barons at the end of the nineteenth century through to Chiquita's payment to Colombian paramilitaries and the growing power of supermarkets at the end of the twentieth century. This is followed by a similar treatment of the fair trade alternative, looking at its historical emergence and contemporary structure. The next couple of chapters chart the rise of progressive political activity around the contemporary banana industry and the potential of fair trade to unify various groups. The rest of the book then explores the central issues and challenges facing the banana industry today, moving from environmental and trade problems to worker and small farmer organising, the potential for organic products, the rise of third-party monitoring within the industry, and the response of the corporate giants to fair trade. Frundt then finishes with a look at recent efforts to forge and promote fairer trade within the industry.

In the end, regardless of whether one shares Frundt's optimism with respect to the potential of fair trade, one is left with a true understanding how the banana industry emerged and currently operates, who benefits and loses from the system, and why a diverse range of groups now agree that we need a better banana. Fair Bananas is obviously a must-read for anyone interested in the banana industry, fair trade and international solidarity, but it also provides a wonderful way of understanding the global economy, US–Latin American relations, and collective action.