Author Guide · Literary Nonfiction
Books Written by
Adam Leith Gollner spent years with the people who live for fruit, from Florida to the jungles of Borneo: smugglers, breeders, collectors and the promoters of a berry that makes lemons taste sweet. For his second book he went looking for people who expect never to die, from a party of Californian immortalists to a magician who claims to have found the fountain of youth on his private island. This guide covers both of his books, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 2 books · Literary nonfiction · 2008–2013 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Adam Leith Gollner has published two books: The Fruit Hunters (2008), about the obsessive world of fruit collectors, smugglers and explorers, which became a documentary film; and The Book of Immortality (2013), about the people and beliefs devoted to living forever. The first leads naturally to the second, since fruit has long been a symbol of eternal life.
Where to Start with Adam Leith Gollner
If you want the famous one
→ The Fruit Hunters (2008).
If you want the bigger question
→ The Book of Immortality (2013).
All 2 Adam Leith Gollner Books, in Order
The Fruit Hunters
Gollner travels from Florida to the jungles of Borneo among fruit collectors, smugglers, breeders and marketers, including the brief American craze for miracle fruit, a berry that makes sour things taste sweet. It won the McAuslan First Book Award and was adapted into a documentary film featuring the actor Bill Pullman.
The Book of Immortality
From religious ideas of the afterlife to cryonics facilities, anti-aging science and the magician David Copperfield, who claims to have found a fountain of youth on his island in the Bahamas, Gollner investigates humanity's oldest wish.
How Many Books Did Adam Leith Gollner Write?
Two books, in 2008 and 2013.
- Nonfiction — The Fruit Hunters (2008) and The Book of Immortality (2013). Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Adam Leith Gollner
The two books stand alone, but Gollner has described the second as a continuation of the first: fruit appears in many traditions as a symbol of immortality.
A reading path
1. The Fruit Hunters (2008)
2. The Book of Immortality (2013)
Quick facts about Adam Leith Gollner
- Lives
- Montreal
- Before the books
- Editor at Vice magazine
- Award
- McAuslan First Book Award, for The Fruit Hunters
- Film
- The Fruit Hunters was adapted into a documentary film
- Books
- 2, The Fruit Hunters (2008) and The Book of Immortality (2013)
How Adam Leith Gollner Writes: Following the Obsessives
Gollner builds his books from the people who care most about a subject, often to the point of obsession, and follows them around the world: the result is part travel writing, part history and part science.
He keeps a sceptical eye while staying sympathetic. In The Book of Immortality he listens to believers of every kind, religious and scientific, without signing up to any of their promises.
Frequently asked questions about Adam Leith Gollner's books
How many books has Adam Leith Gollner written?
Adam Leith Gollner has published two books: The Fruit Hunters (2008) and The Book of Immortality (2013).
What is The Fruit Hunters about?
The Fruit Hunters (2008) is about the world of people obsessed with fruit, from collectors and breeders to smugglers and marketers. It was adapted into a documentary film.
What is The Book of Immortality about?
The Book of Immortality (2013) explores humanity's attempts to live forever, through religion, science, cryonics and magic.
Footnotes
- My second book is coming out — adamgollner.com
- The Book of Immortality — Publishers Weekly
- Adam Gollner won't live forever — Cult MTL
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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