AdvertisementAmerica's Gone Bananas: Here's How It HappenedJune 02, 2012NPR StafffacebookEmailToday, bananas are cheap and ubiquitous in the U.S., but that wasn't always the case. In his new book, The Fish That Ate the Whale, Rich Cohen explains how Sam Zemurray, a young Jewish immigrant, became a major player in the American banana business. (iStockphoto.com)