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Sweetness and Power
The Place of Sugar in Modern History
Rating :
rating
Author(s) :
Sidney W. Mintz
Pages :
274
Pub Date :
1985
Edition(s) at Erowid :
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Publisher :
Penguin Books
ISBN :
0140092331
BACK COVER #
In this eye-opening study, Sidnew Mintz shows how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare foreign luxury to a commonplace necessity of modern life, and how it changed the history of capitalism and industry. He discusses the production and consumption of sugar, and reveals how closely interwoven are sugar's origins as a "slave" crop grown in Europe's tropical colonies with its use first as an extravagant luxury for the aristocracy, then as a staple of the diet of the new industrial proletariat. Finally, he considers how sugar has altered work patterns, eating habits, and our diet in modern times.

BLURBS #
"Sweetness and Power is a fine book. It not only tells a fascinating story, it is also something of an antidote to the sttic quality of much anthropological writing."
-- Jack Goody, The New York Times Book Review