Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern HistoryA fascinating persuasive history of how sugar has shaped the world, from European colonies to our modern diets In this eye-opening study, Sidney 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 is 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. "Like sugar, Mintz is persuasive, and his detailed history is a real treat." -San Francisco Chronicle |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - PattyLee - LibraryThingFascinating study by an anthropologist about sugar/sucrose- its cultivation, effect on the burgeoning capitalist economic system of England, and its role in society. A few parts dragged a bit but I ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - soualibra - LibraryThingIn this eye-opening study, Sidney 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 ... Read full review
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History |
| Author | Sidney W. Mintz |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Penguin Publishing Group, 1986 |
| ISBN | 0140092331, 9780140092332 |
| Length | 320 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Caribbean & West Indies / General History / Social History Social Science / Sociology / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |