3 comments about Design for Tea: Tea Wares from the Dragon Court to Afternoon Tea.

1. A fascinating and well written look at the ceramics and accessories used to serve tea, from China in the middle ages to the 20th century. Wonderful illustrations--lots of photos as well as some drawings. I will definitely check out her other books, which is the ultimate compliment!



2. I bought this book for research for my tea import business. The history of the design for tea was very interesting and well researched. I feel that the author was limited by a budget or something because really this should be a high-volume image book to fully describe the designs. It is a facinating look at the history and culture of tea design.



3. It's odd, but as our world becomes more modern and convenient, and more rushed, I've found that I need a time where everything is entirely self-indulgent, where I can take a half-hour or so, and rest. The magic cure for me is the custom of afternoon tea, and to a lesser extent, an ever-growing collection of tea wares. It may seem terribly old-fashioned, but there something very renewing about being able to have a well-brewed pot of tea, served on good china, with an accompanying nibble or two that may be sweet or savory.
   
   Longtime scholar on the subject of tea drinking, Jane Pettigrew, has taken a look at all of the accessories and paraphernalia that surround the art of tea, and taken a look not just at what is used, but also the history and the why an object has come to be created. Accompanied by plenty of illustrations and photographs, along with little sidebars filled with quotes and excerpts, this is an excursion through the tea table, from humble spoons and tea cups and cozies, all the way to trays and tables, and how and when they were used.
   
   Starting first with the topic of tea pots, and tea cups, Pettigrew traces the origins of how tea was brewed up in China, and shows how the custom arrived in England and Europe, and how the shape and designs of tea ware were influenced by both sides of the export trade. When the English began to uncover the secrets of Chinese porcelain, much of which was devoted to the creation of objects for enjoying tea. As tea was an expensive commodity, it was first drunk by the Royal Court and the aristocracy, but was also quickly adopted by the middle classes and the poor. To have a complete set of china for afternoon tea was certainly a status symbol, and those that could afford it indulged in collecting exquisitely made pieces.
   
   There's also an interesting bit of lore as to why oriental cups do not have handles, and those used in the West do. While Ms. Pettigrew doesn't focus much of her attention on Chinese lore and utensils, preferring instead to look at how custom evolved and how the items would match a need.
   
   What I found interesting was the use of Tipping Kettles -- there is a particularly beautiful example shown -- an item that tea is not brewed in, but rather the water is brought to a boil in, and the history of the tea cozy.
   
   Where this book really works is in the identification of various items -- tea caddies, mote spoons, caddy spoons, and right down to linens to line trays, cover tables and even napkins. Ms. Pettigrew's writing style is elegant and forthright, without being twee or overly cute. While each chapter is very brief, and the book itself is under two hundred pages, it is crammed full of useful information. This would be wonderful for those who enjoy hunting in antique shops and flea markets, or have found a collection of items in their grandmother's attic, and trying to figure out what they are.
   
   What I hope this book will do is inspire others to go beyond just dunking a tea bag into a mug into a kitchen and revive the art of taking tea for themselves as a means to sidestep the rushed world that we live in now. There is something wonderful about the ritual of taking tea with others, and the invitation that it gives to sit down and take a moment, and simply talk and exchange ideas (not to mention gossip as well).

2 comments about Country Rag Crafts.

1. The book features fun, unusual projects and juicy colors. It's well illustrated so that you can create the same effects yourself, throughout your home.
   
   I used this book to put a fresh, woven seat in a rocking chair, and the results were beyond anything I'd dared hope for. I can't imagine this book ever seeming "dated" and you'll refer to it again and again.
   
   The author is British, so some supplies have different names in the U.S., but if you ask at the art supply or hardware store (take the book with you), they'll point you in the right direction.
   
   If you love unique DIY projects that actually turn out as well (or better than) the pictures, this book will delight you.



2. I am impressed by this book and the uniqueness of it. It's filled with beautiful color photography of the projects and well drawn black and white diagrams of how to do things. The book is also well organized: Example: For making a Papier Mache and Rag Bowl, author suggests first getting "design inspiration" by visiting textile and embroidery exhibitions to see how artists blend texture, color, and stitching. Then the author goes on to discuss "planning the decoration" by looking at the fabric and it's texture and shapes or patterns., etc.. Next, "applying the decoration". THen, "making a collection of bowls", the "making the decorated bowl"---materials are listed, then a numbered step-by-step directions in a well-explained and simple manner, followed by colorful artsy photo of a possible finished piece of beautiful art.
   
   I never realized all the wonderful things you can do with colorful fabric and the beauty of the textures and designs.
   
   TABLE OF CONTENTS:
   Introduction
   Collecting and Preparing Rags
   Rag Rugs
   Coiled, Crocheted and Knitted Rugs
   Waving with Fabric
   Decorative Room Furnishings
   Greeting Cards
   Decorative Wreaths and Rings
   Decorative Household Objects
   Beads, Buttons and Jewellery
   Re-Using Knitwear
   Dyeing, Printing, and Marbeling
   Index
   
   This is fantastic book not only for its well organized instructions, but also for the inspirational photos and the colorfulness that makes it exciting reading. A GREAT BOOK!!

2 comments about Living with Pigs: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Porkers (Living with).

1. This definitely is not a book about children and what their mothers told them about their rooms looking like a pig sty. This is a book about animal husbandry and the raising of your own porkers.
   
   Living with Pigs is wonderfully illustrated with photographic images by Geoff Hansen showing the many different breeds of pigs and their surroundings. We all relate to 'Babe' and the exploits of this cute piglet in the barnyard. Chuck Wooster tells tales about his pigs and getting them used to his barnyard for feeding. He snorts 'hello' to them and they 'snort and grunt' return affection.
   
   This book shows that growing up to a shoat and then to a hog is an extremely fast project. In the span of 5 months a 20 to 30 pound shoat becomes a 250 pound hog! With tongue in cheek humor, Chuck Wooster, tells in a remarkably subtle manner the foils and accomplishments he had in the raising of his pigs. One day, three of his pigs were walking across the field to the reception tent for his sister's wedding. These devils were so smart they picked the lock of their enclosure and escaped to join the party.
   
   How to construct enclosures, fences, and where to place a pig sty are only a few explicit instructions given. Hansen goes into extreme detail on the selection process of getting that first shoat. He writes about the gregarious nature of pigs and their need to socialize with other pigs. Pigs do not like to sleep alone or be by themselves at play. They need to be in a group of at least two or more to be content.
   
   A draw back in the past was the fear of getting trichinosis from improperly cooked pork. Raising top quality porcini, organically, partially eliminates this problem and the other tip is not to feed your animals' table scraps or garbage. The United States Department of Agriculture outlawed the feeding of garbage to pigs many years ago to stop the development of this disease. Using fresh vegetables from your garden or feed that is not medically treated are two of the tricks that Chuck employs in his organic system.
   
   The chapter describing slaughter, rendering, and final cut-up is quite graphic, which might be a turn-off for the squeamish among you. However, that section can be skipped and the alternative is to take your hog to the butcher for finalization in your pick-up truck.
   
   Cooking instructions, cuts of meat, and almost everything you want to know about raising your own porker are here in this book. It is one of the best books that I have read on the raising and care of animals.
   
   Clark Isaacs
   Reviewer



2. The only reason I even gave this one star is because Amazon, for some unfathomable reason, will not post star-less reviews.
   
   "People who love pigs"??
   
   Well people who love pigs do NOT slaughter them for food after living with them and earning their trust.
   
   The authors are awful, disgusting men. They might want to try "Living With Cannibals".

1 comments about Thinking Games to Play with Your Child.

1. The book is easy and quick to read, and provides lots of ideas for simple games to entertain both you and your child! Learning to think is the basis for success in any child's educational career and this book provides you with ideas that will positively impact your children's analytical ability. Great for rainy days and car trips. The games are simple but effective, many only requiring pencil and paper, or handy, everyday objects. The kids won't even know they are learning--they will be asking for more! As a mother of two young children, I can highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Play With Your Food.

1. If you have never had the pleasure of flipping through the pages of this book, then buy it today! At first glance, it is merely a whimsical, albeit beautiful, series of photos. However, upon closer inspection, the expressions on the faces really start to come across. And, yes, I'm talking about produce! This is a great book to put on your coffee table and share with your friends.



2. Don't think for a moment that the insane food presentation ideas in this book are only meant to delight children; adults I've entertained become hysterical when served okra lizards or pigs carved from citrus fruits. Two caveats if you try any of these techniques: choose the right sized knife, and make sure it is sharp. Another good idea is to have spare food on hand; you'll ruin an attempt or two for sure as you slice your way up the learning curve.

   Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com




3. Excellent, although it may have been directed toward children, it is a great source of information and pictures for catering and decorating food tables. I use it all the time and marvel at how I now look at fruit and vegetables prior to buying.



4. A friend of mine gave me a copy of this book a few months back. I'd flipped through it a couple of time, but I finally got around to reading it cover to cover today. It's a fast read ... the edition I have is only 109 pages, and most of them are photos. I finished it during a 1 hour workout at the gym earlier today.
   
   The author basically takes the approach of looking at various fruits and vegetables like a rorschach diagram ... selecting oddly shaped examples and looking at them from all different angles, while looking for standouts that display some unusual inner character or expressiveness - and then, with only a few minor cuts and tweaks, turns them into living art.
   
   It's a very clever book, and some of the results that the author achieves are extraordinary. I was particularly impressed with the author's pumpkin carving ability.
   
   In any case, this book is more about making art than it is about carving food ... the produce is just the photographic subject.
   
   Nits ?
   
   I thought the author dealt with the subject a bit too briefly and narrowly. Although the book is 109 pages, 90% of that page count is mostly photos ... the book can be read in well under 1 hour. I'd like to have seem more page count devoted to discussion and things like carving technique.
   
   I'd also have like to see the author include some examples taking a less ultra-simple and ultra-minimalist course ... by doing some more extensive carving and alteration. Things like carving melons, and cutting interesting & amusing garnishes for parties. Such material could have taken the book a bit out of the land of avante garde whimsy, and into the realm of practical home entertaining.
   
   Still, for what it is, the book is very enjoyable. It's still coffee table fodder, to be sure, but enjoyable none the less.



5. This is interesting and amusing to look through ONCE. I wish instead of buying it I just took it out of a library. I had hoped I'd get loads of ideas to add on a plate of food gifts or something but there was nothing much to learn here except for the fact that Black eyed beans make good "eyes". The great photography sold this book. I passed it on to my daughter who is more artistic than I. With just a little inspiration she will do some great pumpkin carvings ETC. However, if you're not born with artistic abilities don't expect it from this book. The real point of the book is for the author to make money.., mission accomplished!

5 comments about Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (Culinary Institute of America).

1. I recently completed my 4th Quarter as a Culinary Student at the Art Institute. Using the book "Garde Manger, The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen" was great text used in our course of Garde Manger. The recipes easy to understand and the outcome of each dish had great results. This book is a great addition to my library as i will refer back to it frequently.



2. While I attended The Illinois Institute of Culinary Arts, this book was required for our Garde Manger class.
   During the time I attended school, I was unable to purchase the book, and had to reserve it from my local library.
   I was most delighted when I found it on Amazon.com, and I highly recommend it for schools, personal use etc.
   The book was in excellent condition and arrived much faster than I had anticipated.
   
   Sincerely,
   Vatania



3. This publication provides a broad range of basic and advanced techniques for the cold kitchen. We used this book in the culinary arts program at the college I attend and I have made many of the recipe's successfully. I withheld one star because I found that universally the recipe's lack proper seasoning. It's a great book for anyone needing real working recipe's and techniques for salads, dressings, hors d hovres, canapes, taurine, sausage making, smoking, and other detail cold kitchen work.



4. .
   
   This is another great TEXT from the CIA. As with all good textbooks, the focus is on the how and why rather than on the what. The recipes are to illustrate lesson points rather than be the focus of the book.
   
   If you want to improve you cold kitchen skills, buy this book.



5. Great book with great insights and recipes. Of course I had to buy it for school but still I enjoyed the book a lot!!!

2 comments about Positive Discipline for Working Parents: Raising Responsible, Respectful, and Resourceful Children When You Work Outside the Home.

1. I think this book is excellent. It brought up a lot of new ideas that I have never come across in other child-rearing books or articles. There are many ideas regarding ways of thinking, and practical suggestions, for making the child's and parent's lives calmer and happier. It is a very useful book in understanding that everything we do and say truly effects what kind people our children become. A good portion of the book can really be for anybody, but there are many ideas that are specific to working parents.



2. In all my years of reading parenting books I have never seen a book miss its mark by so far. The authors have no grasp on what really motivates good behavior in kids...teaching them to do the right thing, nurturing a conscience and helping them strengthen their capacity for self control....the struggles working parents may have disciplining their kids is only related to their knowledge about good parenting and has little to do with working! Next time these two write a book they really should take a moment and actually learn about what they want to educate the public about. In the meantime..stay clear!

3 comments about Your Baby and Bowser.

1. Your Baby and Bowser is a non-disciplinarian guide to avoiding potential problems between your dog and your child or grandchild. Small children tend to bring out the best and the worst of dogs. Children may unknowing startle a sleeping or eating dog. Caught unaware, even the best trained dog might react by growling or biting. The crying and flailing of infants may resemble prey behaviours or behaviours of a sick pup. In these cases, the dog may feel the need to stalk or play with the prey. Alternately, the animal may try to comfort the child or drag it to safety. Since dogs use their teeth to undertake these tasks, risk of injury is possible.
   
   The author states that there are several important keys to avoiding potential accidents caused by natural dog behaviours such as chewing, biting, jumping, scratching, and stalking. One of these important keys is good training and proper dog handling. Another important key is socializing preparation before your child actually comes home. By far, however, it is important that your dog and child never be left alone together.
   
   Your Baby and Bowser is an extremely well written, organized guide. This book details potential issues that can potentially occur between children and dogs. Furthermore, the author explains how many of these disasters are simply due to natural dog behaviours. Thus, such incidents are not normally the result of a premeditated, vicious attack by a bad dog. Moreover, the author explains how the dog owner can not only understand and identify these potential behaviours but also use this newfound knowledge to protect both the dog and the child. This book even contains details easy to use step by step training and includes various intuitive problem solving techniques.



2. Very good, though really designed for a couple who already has a dog and is adding the baby. I was hoping to learn about having a baby and then getting the dog.



3. Very good, though really designed for a couple who already has a dog and is adding the baby. I was hoping to learn about having a baby and then getting the dog.

No comments about Discipline Without Tears: How to Reduce Conflict and Establish Cooperation in the Classroom.

5 comments about The True History of Chocolate.

1. The bulk of the research, and most of the first three chapters of this academic book, were written by Sophie Coe before her sudden death from cancer in 1993. Her husband, Michael, undertook to complete the book as a sort of monument to his wife. It is a shame that Sophie Coe didn't write the whole book.
   
   Michael Coe has taken a book about the history of Theobroma cacao (the chocolate plant) and turned it into an apology for the Aztecs and a bitter diatribe against Spain and, more diffusely, against Europeans in general, and against those benighted slobs who eat chocolate with less than 70% cacao. In the process, he commits many gross errors in scholarship that are severe enough that the critical reader begins to distrust him.
   
   I developed a fascination with the Aztec and the Maya as a very young child and remember reading books about them in the very early 1970's. Even then, European and American scholars recognized that Aztec human sacrifice -- even the sacrifice of little children to Tlaloc in the cornfields -- wasn't carried out in a mood of sadistic glee, but because according to Aztec theology the gods and the sun needed blood in order to live or the universe would be destroyed. Aztec society was highly literate and they were supreme bureacrats, and they themselves documented tens of thousands of human sacrifices. They also documented the extent that royalty had to let their own blood by pulling spiked cords through their lips, and the fact that wars were carried out for the sole purpose of capturing prisoners so that priests could sacrifice them. One does not need to minimize anything about Aztec theology in order to condemn the Spaniards for dehumanizing the Aztecs. And, at that same time that the Spaniards were dehumanizing the Aztecs, they were themselves torturing people for the sake of their eternal salvation, but torturing people nevertheless. Given the choice between the tools made available to perpetrators of the Inquisition, and an obsidian blade and a heart amputation, most readers would choose the more-rapid Aztec death over the brutal and miserable slow torture at the hands of the Inquisition. No question.
   
   But even Coe acknowleges that the Aztecs were an imperialist culture engaged in aggressive war for the sake of territory, victims for human sacrifice, slaves, T. cacao, and other wares.
   
   This is an argument that does not need to be had. And if anyone is interested in a truly scholarly work about pre-Columbian Meso-American life, then read 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann. This new work, which contains scholarship unavailable to the Coes, shows that the population of the New World exceeded that of contemporary Europe, and provides clear-eyed descriptions based on the archaeological record, and based on new DNA research, of life during that time.
   
   But the purpose of the Coe's book, ostensibly, is to give the reader the history of chocolate, not to go into long diatribes against Spaniards, or to make comments like this "Our almost exclusive devotion to taking our chocolate 'straight' is singularly unimaginative." Um, well, we don't. We eat chocolate on top of every sweet thing known to man, mix it with our coffee, and we even brew it in our beer. We consume it in solid, powdered and liquid form. We just don't mix it with chili, or drink it cold mixed with cornmeal. This hardly translates into "unimaginative" cooking, any more than the Aztecs are unimaginative because they only took their chocolate in liquid form.
   
   Coe's defensiveness concerning the Aztecs causes him to discount eyewitness accounts by Aztecs and Spaniards alike. Apparently, the Aztecs felt that T. cacao was an intoxicant and an aphrodisiac. The Coes vehemently disagreed that it was, and vehemently disagreed that the Aztec king would ever need an aphrodisiac, and besides, the Spaniards all were constipated from their bad diet. Yes, it really does get that silly.
   
   In fact, it gets so silly, that Michael Coe by the end of the book is defending the Marquis de Sade as an epicure who's getting picked on by the authorities. Yes, chocolate is circuitously involved, but anyone who quotes the Marquis de Sade as an authority on pleasure needs to have his head examined. Anyone who's read 120 Days of Sodom knows why.
   
   The Coes can't be faulted for their ignorance of medical and pharmacological research that had yet to take place as of the writing of their book, but current research shows that chocolate has a direct impact on neurotransmitters in the brain that affect the sense of well-being and of ones that might put the consumer in a more amorous frame of mind. And T. cacao is a mild stimulant. The medical reality, though, could be said to be irrelevant. The Aztecs served chocolate to the bride and groom at wedding ceremonies. The Aztecs associated chocolate with life-giving blood. To the Aztecs, chocolate was associated with sex. It constitutes the worst form of cultural imperialism to suggest that the Aztecs didn't know what they were talking about, and discount eyewitnesses who emphasized Aztec usage of chocolate consistent with this Aztec cultural view. The Aztecs don't need the Coes to tell them what their chocolate really means to them, because the Aztecs explicitly stated it in their liturgy, poetry, sculpture, commerce and ceremony. And the Coes might want to reconsider the accuracy of the Aztec position since our culture also considered chocolate to be an aphrodisiac prior to the recent scientific discoveries, which is why American men give it to women on Valentine's Day.
   
   The Coes also make much of the fact that, they say, chocolate can't be an intoxicant, so the Aztecs are a bunch of puritans when they say that it is. We have already discussed that T. cacao causes an altered state of consciousness by affecting neurotransmitters. In our world, to be intoxicated one's motor skills must be affected, as when one consumes alcohol or marijuana, or one's judgment must become completely obliterated, as when one consumes cocaine, hallucinogens, or crystal meth. But from this we do not conclude that all those Aztecs are making it all up; a reliable scholar does not discard contemporary accounts and contemporary usage, but instead concludes that the Aztec concept of "intoxication" does not coincide with the Western concept. One concludes that the Aztec usage of the word is more nuanced than ours.
   
   Coe discounts one eyewitness who fails to agree with him on the subject of when Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin consumed chocolate at a "colossal event" by saying that "it should be kept in mind that these are the recollections of an old man in his eighties." And so Coe dehumanizes an eyewitness based on his age for the simple sin of failing to agree with him. Coe's basis for disagreeing with the eyewitness is that chocolate can't possibly be an aphrodisiac and how dare anyone suggest that Motecuhzoma needs an aphrodisiac just because he has a large harem.
   
   Coe's huffiness affects his scholarship later when discussing the origin of the word "chocolate." He takes up the Maya verb "chukola'j" which means "to drink chocolate together." But he is mystified that Europeans did away with the Nahuatl term for chocolate: cacahuatl. Only at the very end of a long monologue does he grasp the most obvious point: No speaker of any Romance language wants to drink a runny brown substance called "caca"-anything. The name changed from cacahuatl for the same reason that we no longer refer to that long-eared furry animal that hops and eats carrots as a "coney" -- and coney rhymes with "money." We call it a "rabbit." But we still keep the association with coney, as when we talk about a woman of ill-repute performing the coital act with the frequency of a rabbit, and when Emma's father tells newly-widowed Charles Bovary, "We'll have you shoot a rabbit in the fields to help you get over your sorrow."
   
   The Coes' failure to recognize the emotional and social impact of language, and the sense that they know best, and that the Aztecs must stop their silliness in thinking they needed an aphrodisiac, and the Europeans must stop being so benighted, is part of a whole unappetizing and academically-deficient package.
   
   Ironically, the book ends with a snobby list of select chocolates that we are told meets the Coes' specifications as true chocolate -- all of which contain at least 70% cocoa. This list is entirely inadequate. There are terms of art for discussing the taste of chocolate, just as their are for wine, beer, coffee and tea. A reader who wants to be told what certain chocolates taste like could easily find more lively and comprehensive guides that teach the reader what to look for in the finest chocolates, and those terms of art, just as such guides are available for connoisseurs of wine, beer, coffee or tea.
   
   I am grateful for the picture of what a cacao pod looks like on the tree and split in half. I have been walking around all my life with a totally erroneous picture in my head.
   
   But other than that, the Coes' biases, their stated refusal to consider eyewitness accounts and other scholarship if it does not conform to their pre-established bias, the lack of good humor, the hateful tone, and the prescription for Valrhona chocolate or else you are a benighted slob, all make for unappetizing reading.
   
   I can't help but think there is more trustworthy scholarship out there, and more enjoyable sources to consider when reading about chocolate.



2. The history of chocolate has never been so wonderful woven like it is in this book. This uncomplicated book traces the cacao story back to its origin with the Olmec, Maya, and Aztecs, and from there it migrates to Europe and taking the noble courts by storm. The book goes beyond just the basic history, it lists in details how chocolate is manufactured, prepared and consumed since the beginning of time to the modern age. There isn't a part of chocolate the Coes don't cover. Unfortunately, this book focuses too much on the ancient history of chocolate with special attention to the three ancient Mesoamerican civilizations and then European consumption in the 16-19th century. The last chapter speaks briefly, too briefly, on the modern history of chocolate in the 20th century. The authors do not cover the modern chocolate trade, its environmental impact, what it means for million of people, or what are the modern significances of chocolate. The story basically stops at Hershey and his factory in Pennsylvania. The epilogue asks the readers to be conscious in buying fair-trade chocolate, but other than that, there isn't a modern history of chocolate in this book. Overall, however, this is a well written and heavily researched book that dispels many misconceptions and provides a clearer understanding about this dark mistress of our taste bud.



3. Okay I must first confess I only read the first edition of this book, not the fancy schmancy second edition, but since I feel the two editions are mostly alike I shall proceed to review anyway, or I will just add the proviso that this review is intended for the first edition of this book. Anyway, back to the actual review. This book was sweet and I mean sweet like ground cacao beans mixed with sugar. Not only will this book tell you a ton about chocolate and the cacao tree from which it sprang(which info is sure to dazzle all your friends, if you can remember it), but it also gives info about the civilizations and people which produced and used chocolate from its origins with the Olmec, to the modern age of mass produced chocolate bars. The role of chocolate in history and the impact it has made in the lives of millions across time and space is truly quite fascinating. So if you like chocolate, or history, or both(like me) then I would highly recommend this book.



4. Good book, well researched, but not much different to other books written on this subject. However, as a chocolate addict anything written about the best food on earth gets me in and for the research content and general easy to read writing style I give it a 4 star rating.



5. I was very disappointed at how the author managed to taint a fascinating story with his own personal biases. His relentless attacks on the Spanish, the Catholic Church and the whole of the Catholic world was offensive. When I was being educated in the 50's and 60's, this sort of anglocentrism was standard. Today, it is inexcusable. No matter what excesses the Spanish or other Catholics committed in the Americas, the English (along with their American apologists) and Protestants in general have no higher ground to stand on. In Latin America, there still exist large and vibrant native populations. In North America (where I live), Native Americans are few in number an relegated to tiny patches of land. How did the englightened Protestants allow this to happen?
   
   Back to Mr Coe's writing, he was relentless (not to mention tiresome) in assigning negative adjective to all things and persons Spanish or Catholic. Instead of celebrating the Spanish adoption of chocolate, it was treated as theft. Rather than giving credit to Catholics for introducing it to Europe, they are demonized as a corrupt elite. When Protestant Europe happens upon chocolate, the author is effusive in his praise. When chocolate becomes part of the English Industrial Revolution, Mr Coe ignores all of England's crimes against humanity and heaps compliments upon its chocolate-making and merchandising.
   
   Had the book provided the history of chocolate outside the context of religion, it might have been wonderful. Regrettably, it is bogged down by unnecessary prejudices and facile evaluations of persons, peoples and societies. I would not recommend this book to anyone, Protestant or Catholic.