Coconuts have been around for longer than Homo sapiens; they have been turned into art, taken part in religious rituals and been a sign of wealth and success. They have saved lives, not only by providing nourishment, but also as part of the charcoal filers in First World War gas masks. It was coconuts that triggered the mutiny on the Bounty, and coconuts that saved the life of the man who went on to become the 35th President of the United States. The coconut has long been the unseen player in the endeavours of industrialists and bomb makers, physicians and silversmiths, smugglers and snake charmers. To this day, coconuts shape the lives of people around the world. At a time when coconut products crowd the shelves of supermarkets, health food shops and beauty salons, Robin Laurance looks beyond the oils and health drinks to uncover the unexpected, often surprising, and vital roles played by the coconut palm and its nut in times past and present.

Life in the troubled neighbourhood of Cabramatta demands too much too young. But Sonny wouldn’t really know. Watching the world from her bedroom window, she exists only in second-hand romance novels and falls for any fast-food employee who happens to spare her a glance. Everything changes with the return of Vince, a boy who became a legend after he was hauled away in handcuffs. Sonny and Vince used to be childhood friends. But with all that happened in-between, childhood seems so long ago. It will take two years of juvie, an inebriated grandmother and an unexpected discovery for them to meet again. The Coconut Children is an urgent, moving and wise debut from a young and gifted storyteller.

The Coconut: Phylogeny, Origins, and Spread comprehensively covers the botany, phylogeny, origins, and spread of the coconut palm. The coconut is used primarily for its oil, fiber, and as an article of food, including its tender-nut water. Until the 1950s, coconut oil used to rank first in the world in production and international trade among all the vegetable oils. Since then, lower-cost sources such as the African oil palm, soybean, canola, and others have overtaken the coconut in oil production and trade. The coconut, Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae), is a dominant part of the littoral vegetation across the tropics. In addition to discussing the origins of the coconut and its use as a crop, the book covers the resurgence in the use of the coconut in food, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. Presents the phylogeny, origins, and spread of the coconut Explores the broad-based use of coconut from basic food source to nutraceuticals Provides ethnobotanical information on cultivation and use of this tropical crop

In this book you will learn about the amazing health benefits of coconut oil, meat, milk, and water. You will find out why coconut oil is considered the healthiest oil on earth and how it can protect you against heart disease, diabetes, and infectious illnesses such as influenza, herpes, candida, and even HIV. You will learn why coconut water is used as an IV solution and how coconut meat can protect you from colon cancer, regulate blood sugar, and expel intestinal parasites. Contains dozens of fascinating case studies and remarkable success stories. You will read about one woman's incredible battle with breast cancer and how she cured herself with coconut. You will read how a medical doctor cured himself of Crohn's disease in seven days. This book includes an extensive A to Z reference with complete details on how to use coconut to prevent and treat dozens of common health problems. The foreword is written by Dr Conrado Dayrit, the first person to publish studies showing the benefit of coconut oil in treating HIV.

From curries to creamy piña coladas, a delectable global history of the many culinary incarnations of the coconut. The flavor and image of the coconut are universally recognizable, conjuring up sweet, exotic pleasures. Called the “Swiss army knife” of the plant world, the versatile coconut can be an essential ingredient in savory curries, or a sacred element in Hindu rituals or Polynesian kava ceremonies. Coconut’s culinary credentials extend far beyond a sprinkling on a fabulous layer cake or cream pie to include products such as coconut vinegar, coconut sugar, coconut flour, and coconut oil. Complete with recipes, this book explores the global history of coconut from its ancient origins to its recent elevation to super-food status.

There is a forgotten castaway one an island in the thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean. He writes his story in a battered paperback novel, covering the space between printed lines and around the margins before packing the book into a coconut shell and sending it out to drift to sea, hoping that it will be found. Who is this forgotten man? In a remarkable feat of imaginative skill, Richard Maynard records the thoughts, feelings and struggle for survival of the ultimate castaway, a man whose name and background we are never told but whose inner life we come to know intimately. Alone on his few square yards of sand, rocks and stunted palms he writes of his despair and self-pity, his triumphs and fantasies, his struggle to stay alive. He occupies his time by measuring the island that has become his prison, and the solitary spider that shares his home becomes his only friend. As time goes by, dreams and reality begin to blend. He realises that the elderly man who appears before him is a figment of his imagination, as her the sounds of music and laughter that float across the sea from an island that seems to be in the distant haze. One day he will find the courage to swim over to the island, following the sounds of music...

Chef and cooking teacher Su-Mei Yu presents 175 recipes for Thai fare prepared in the authentic and traditional manner, accompanied by a history of Thai cooking and tips on the cuisine's cooking techniques. He explains how to make these preparations from scratch, including chile pastes, coconut milk and cream, and spice mixtures. 8 pages of color photos.