An ancient Roman writer and agronomist in a work on agriculture noted: "The olive is the first among all trees." Since ancient times, it has provided people with food, light, heat, medicines, cosmetics and served as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. In twenty chapters — two symbolic handfuls of olives — the Swiss philologist, poet, and essayist Ralph Dutli recounts thousands of years of fascinating cultural history of the amazing tree, its role in magical rites, literature, art, military conflicts, and the global economy.