Product Description: Caffeine is the world's most popular drug! Almost all of us start our day with a jolt of caffeine from coffee, tea or cola. And many of us crave chocolate when we're stressed or depressed. Without it we're lethargic, headachy and miserable. Why? Why do we crave caffeine? How much do we really know about our number one drug of choice?
Here is the first natural, cultural and artistic history of our favorite mood enhancer -- its discovery; its early uses; and its unexpected importance in medicine, religion, painting, poetry, learning and love. Weinberg and Bealer tell an intriguing story of a remarkable substance that has figured prominently in the exchanges of trade and intelligence among nations and whose most common sources -- coffee, tea and chocolate -- have been both promoted as productive of health and creativity and banned as corrupters of the body and mind or subverters of social order.
The World of Caffeine is a captivating tale of art and society -- from India to Balzac to cybercafes -- and the ultimate caffeine resource.
You're going to need caffeine to finish this book Weinberg and Bealer's The World of Caffeine brings together history, science, culture, and medical studies into one large volume. What promised, according to the cover, to be a book on the science and culture of the world's most popular drug, ended up being a boring treatise on the history of caffeine. It was only towards the last 1/3 of the book, that it really started picking up, and even then, the medical information bogged down.
The authors are careful to list all sides in the caffiene debate, from medical studies, to historical perspectives, never endorsing one side or the other. Because of this lack of a firm position on caffeine, the book read with a very dry, emotionless tone. I found the history interesting, but presented as it was here without any correlations and in strict, chronological order, it sounded more like a text book. Such circumstances, such as the rivalry between the British East India Tea Company and the Dutch East India Tea company might have made for more exciting reading, had they been explored further.
As someone who has had an on again-off again relationship with caffeine, I expected more than this book delivered. I wanted a thoughtful, compelling look at caffeine, not dry facts. Still, the book is interesting, if you can slog your way through it.
Very interesting One of the best non-fiction I have ever read. Very interesting! It covers history, science, commerce and many other aspects of caffeine culture. Caffeine is THE drug of choice of most of the world population. Coffee, Cocoa, Tea, Guarana, Mate, and Cola: in all countries in the world at least one of these plants is a popular drink. Add soft drinks (most of them contain refined caffeine) to the above list and we may assume that most of the world population consumes caffeine on a regular basis.
Excellent condition This book was supposedly used but came to me in perfect condition. Thank you!
Well-researched but somehow boring This book is really well-researched. All you ever wanted to know about caffeine is in this book. The problem is that the authors stuff the book with so many facts and quotes from other books/treatises that they make it unreadable. This is especially true for the historical part (first part of the book). If you want to know about the history of caffeine, I would not buy this book. The book also has a lot of very interesting statistics and facts, and just for that reason, I will keep it.
Intriguing, Original We hear a lot about the evil of stimulants. Amateur doctors who get their info from infomercials or Aunt Clara have begun to equate beverage/food stimulants with tobacco, alcohol and those absurdly misnamed "recreational" drugs. There is no comparison between being a zoned-out zombie and perking up to a Pepsi or cafe latte. Those who don't see this need a reality check. In fact, I am sipping a Dr. Pepper as I write (and, I might add, without a twinge of guilt.)
Caffiene is a modern development, especially the refining and concentrating of its powers. It emerged from the shadows in the Industrial Society and was indispensable in the conversion from a society of alcholic stupor to one that would revolutionize the world. The origins of both coffee and tea are quite similar - both being recognized for their medicinal purposes. Both had strong religious opposition (Islamic and Catholic) and both developed rituals and sites dedicated to the imbibing of the liquid.
Coffee and a few other naturally occurring plants also contain caffiene. The scientific section was too advanced for 99% of the readers- more like a chemistry treatise - but the history of this ubiquitous drug was exciting and learned. The story of the rise of coffee houses, their political and social importance and the tale of the origins of afternoon "Tea" were both well done/ The history of soft drinks was an eye-opener as well. The book contains several illustrations and is best enjoyed with a hot cup of Costa Rican Arabica beaned coffee (not pre-ground).
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