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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #227729 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-02
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .2 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From Booklist
Readers who, like Prufrock, measure out their lives in coffee spoons will appreciate the background on their drug of choice provided by science writers Weinberg and Bealer. The authors wander through caffeine's history, exploring coffee's Arabian origins, tea's roots in Asia, and chocolate's background in the Americas. They consider how these different forms of caffeine found their way to Europe, and how they were accepted in different countries, ultimately suggesting a nexus between this drug and reliable clocks as essential contributors to the Industrial Revolution. In examining "caffeine culture," Weinberg and Bealer discuss three nations--Japan, England, and the U.S.--where caffeinated beverages are particularly popular, and then discuss the role of these beverages as the new millennium begins. The book's last two sections shift from history and anthropology to chemistry and biology, considering the nature of caffeine and its relatives and by-products, and the effects, positive and negative, of caffeine on specific organs and on mental function. Includes photographs and cartoons, charts and graphs, and a number of useful appendixes. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
[A] marvelous new book. -- Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker
With a flavor reminiscent of Daniel Boorstin's The Discoverers, The World of Caffeine tells an intriguing history of a drug that many people seem unable to live without. The book's engaging, easy style allows readers to zip through it like a jolt of good java, or savor it slowly like a good cup of tea. -- The Washington Post Book World
The alchemists of old only dreamed of turning dross into gold, but the scientists who followed them succeeded in converting caffeine into ideas. In this new information age the conversion continues at an even faster pace, and this very useful book helps us to understand how it all happened. -- James Trager, author of The Food Chronology and The People's Chronology
This well-researched and entertaining book, The World of Caffeine, contains a wealth of facinating cultural and historical andcdotes and scientificfacts which provide a unique perspective on the world's most commonly used psychoactive drug. -- Roland R. Griffiths, PhD, a leading caffeine researcher, John Hopkins University School of Medicine
With impressive felicity, Weinberg and Bealer marshal the forces of history, chemistry, cultural anthropology, psychology, philosophy, and even a little religion to tell caffeine's complicated story. -- The Cleveland Plain Dealer
...a magnificently researched book filled with revelations about what has become, for many of us, a routine part of each day's consumption. -- The Wall Street Journal
Readers who, like Prufrock, measure out their lives in coffee spoons will appreciate the background on their drug of choice provided by science writers Weinberg and Bealer. -- Booklist
A savory and spirited cultural history of caffeine...Well- researched, briskly written, full-bodied, and flavorful. -- Kirkus Reviews
From early warnings against the evils of caffeine to curiosities about coffeehouse culture, this book holds everything we ever wanted to know -- and then some -- about the drug that helps many of us keep up with the fast pace of our lives. -- Boston Herald
[Weinberg and Bealer] make the most of their learned backgrounds to ponder all manner of facts and fictions about the bean and beverage. -- Toronto Star
This well researched book examines the myth of caffeine and gives an excellent insight into this fascinating product, its orgins and history. -- Thomas Meinl, President, The Julius Meinl Group, Vienna
[Weinberg and Bealer] remind us in their marvelous new book . . . there is no drug quite as effortlessly adaptable as caffeine, the Zelig of chemical stimulants. -- Malcolm Gladwell,The New Yorker
The text is rich with information, yet it is easy and pleasant to read. -- Peter B. Lewis,PhD, New England Journal of Medicine
Weinberg and Bealer provide an in-depth scholarly work that is remarkably readable and informative. The World of Caffeine will provide something for nearly everyone. -- T.D. DeLapp, Choice
I love coffee, I love tea, I love the book on its history... a fascinating look at caffeine in its various forms, and very effectively shows its popularity in a historic, social, and pharmacological context. -- Jock Murray, Comptes Rendus

Kirkus Review (October 15, 2000)
"An amazing book...a challenging mix of history, science, medicine, anthropology, sociology, and popular culture."