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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 641.3373 EAN: 9780465054671 ISBN: 0465054676 Label: Basic Books Manufacturer: Basic Books Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 554 Publication Date: 2000-04 Publisher: Basic Books Release Date: April 25, 2000 Studio: Basic Books Editorial Review: Product Description: "Pendergrast has served up a rich blend of anecdote, character study, market analysis, and social history...everything you ought to know about coffee is here." -New York Times The first comprehensive business and social history of coffee, which describes how coffee has dominated and molded the economies, politics, and social structures of entire countries. Pendergrast's scrupulously researched and lively anecdotal history provides a window through which to view broader themes of modern-day media and marketing, the rise of mass production, colonialism, women's issues, and international commodity schemes. Amazon.com Review: Since its discovery in an Ethiopian rainforest centuries ago, coffee has brewed up a rich and troubled history, according to Uncommon Grounds, a sweeping book by business writer Mark Pendergrast. Over the years, the beverage has fomented revolution, spurred deforestation, enriched a few while impoverishing the many, and addicted millions with its psychoactive caffeine. Coffee is now the world's second most valuable legal commodity, behind oil, according to Pendergrast, who is also author of For God, Country, and Coca-Cola. "A good cup of coffee can turn the worst day tolerable, can provide an all-important moment of contemplation, can rekindle a romance," he writes. "And yet, poetic as its taste may be, coffee's history is rife with controversy and politics." For example, coffee bankrolled Idi Amin's genocidal regime in Uganda and the Sandinistas' revolution in Nicaragua. Uncommon Grounds provides some fascinating tidbits. Did you know that coffeehouses helped spawn the French and American revolutions? Or that coffee supplanted alcohol as a favorite breakfast drink in Britain in the late 1600s, and later became a patriotic American beverage after the Boston Tea Party? Pendergrast also details the rise and fall of regional coffee brands in the United States, the role of advertising in the industry, the global economic impact of coffee prices, and the recent emergence of specialty-coffee retailers--Starbucks, for example. Finally, he explores the social and environmental ramifications of coffee and highlights recent attempts to encourage a livable wage and environmental protection in coffee-producing nations such as Brazil. Pendergrast also includes an appendix on "how to brew the perfect cup." This wide-ranging book is a good read for those curious about the history and context behind that morning cup of coffee, as well as for those strictly interested in the business side of the industry. --Dan Ring Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Good, if a little ponderous at timesGiven that I wanted some background on the coffee industry, this was a great introduction. It provided details of the origins of coffee and how the major players have been formed and evolved over the years. It also illustrates how political coffee can be. Sometimes, I found it a little hard going and one slight criticism would be that it is somewhat US centric in its focus on the demand side but given the breadth of the subject matter the author had to make choices. In summary, a good solid read ... Read More Rating:  - Thanks Mr. Pendergrast!This is such an informative and detailed history that it must take it's place as one of the most important books on coffee. Pendergrast's deep and broad probe of the historical context is really marvelous, and although most of us are not that interested in the machinations of the old coffee families this is really a fascinating tour of capitalism at work. Personally, I would have liked more on the colonial and neo-colonial exploitation of indigenous peoples; after all, this is the ... Read More Rating: - Facinating history of my favourite drink!From the early beginnings of coffee's discovery to the maturation of the specialty coffee revolution in 1999 it's all here. Provided of course you live in North America. We learn neat little bits of history such as how almost all the coffee trees in Latin America are descended from a single specimen. A plant that survived storms, pirates and a fellow passenger to make in to Martinique. As with the previous plant another descendent made its way to Brazil with much intrigue (and adultery). ... Read More Rating: - "Let's have another cup of coffee . . . "Resting next to your mouse or keyboard - at a safe distance! - your cuppa steams aromatically. The morning coffee, whether at home or work, is the "kick-starter" of many a person's day. For some, it must be a special flavour, brewed to taste, yet often mixed with sweeteners or cow juice, real or otherwise. For the rest, anything hot and caffeine-laced is sufficient. Yet almost none of us ask where that beverage came from, why we drink it and why North Americans stick with coffee and others with tea. ... Read More Rating: - Great read for history and coffee junkiesI am an admitted Starbucks addict and History Channel junkie. Both of those traits made this book a total blast to read. Sure, it is a little slow at the beginning, but if you stick with it you learn how Coffee has influenced world economics, the marketing industry, and even our language. Pendergrast does spend the majority of his time analyzing Coffee's impact on America, so if you are not an American I have to wonder how enjoyable this book would actually be. Nevertheless, ... Read More |
