John R Bringhurst

Yielding Fruit John R Bringhurst

This book is a detailed biography of Royce S. Bringhurst (1918-2005), a world-renowned strawberry expert who headed the University of California strawberry breeding program from 1953 to 1989. Drawn from an extensive collection of letters and journals, the book gives a compelling portrait, not just of one remarkable scientist, but of American life in the World War II generation.

Beginning with Bringhurst's early life as a Utah farm boy, it describes his experience as the first member of his family to attend college, and of a six-year interruption of his schooling, first to serve as a Spanish-speaking missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and then as an American soldier in the Second World War. It gives a detailed account of his military training as an air crewman, and of his service with a B-25 squadron based in Corsica, including his first-hand description of some of his 65 bombing missions, and of the effect his combat experience had on his life and thought.

The book continues with his completion and college and graduate school, and of his brief work as an avocado breeder at UCLA in the 1950s. It then recounts his work as head of the University of California strawberry program, including early work in growing techniques which helped to rescue a struggling industry in California, and the later release of spectacularly successful strawberry varieties, which brought worldwide prominence. In addition to commercial strawberries, Bringhurst also had a keen interest in wild strawberry colonies, and he incorporated wild strawberries into his breeding program with remarkable success. His pathfinding work with wild strawberries is described in some detail.

Of historical significance, the book describes Bringhurst's long correspondence with Henry A. Wallace, former Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President of the United States, who for a time sponsored some of his work. It also includes first-hand accounts of important world events, including the hijacking crisis and Arab Summit of 1970, and the military coup in Chile in 1973. Written by his son, John R. Bringhurst.