[.ca] The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from the Crop to ... (ISBN 1565845080)

Coffee could be worse than cattle!:
Mr.Dicum and Ms.Luttinger have writtne a phenomenal book. From their obsure historical facts to their pinpointing the origin of coffee, 6th century Ethiopia, you will be riveted to your seat as if you were reading a fictional novel. They put coffee, the coffee industry, and global coffee politics under a microscope and often times it fails to hold up to the scrutiny. No matter what your political affiliation is you can't help but be immediately shocked and awed and the incredible amount of sociopolitical machinations that go on for you to have that morning sip of java. For 11 years I have been a futures investor, broker, and author. One of the preferred futures contracts that I trade is coffee. This book has provided me with an indepth background and perspective on coffee that I never had before. This is now one of my reference books. For those that are interested in investing in coffee either actual grounds or in futures this book is for you and for those that can go a day without the original "liquid gold" you have got to read it. At the end of the day you will appreciate that Starbuck's "venti mocha grande" just a little bit more.

Boy, what a disappointment THAT was.:
Here I thought I was getting a book having something to do with coffee, all I got was a militant greenie screed against any business bigger than a lemonade stand. Coffee makes rare and infrequent appearances in this book, which was written to reveal the evils of colonialism, how terrible slavery was, how underpaid Third World workers are, how awful America is in just about every way possible and to harrangue readers with straight doctrinaire party-line anti-business anti-WTO liberal international geopolitics. Coffee's just a stage prop for the authors' political rantings. The authors clearly know nothing about coffee itself apart from the geopolitical ramifications of its trade as a commodity, what there is in the book pertaining to actual coffee is perfunctory, sketchy and cribbed from far better books. Even on the book's real subject, which is to serve as a tract for liberal free-trade politics they can't get their facts straight. They mindlessly repeat the canards about Starbucks "imperialism" and how they're driving all independent shops out of business. Bushwa. Every study that's been done shows that wherever there's a Starbucks established, local coffee shops thrive and business for everyone goes up. If you're into reading in-house literature for the free trade movement this book won't challenge your prejudices. But if you want to know something about coffee you won't learn it here.

Good to the last drop!:
This was a fascinating book. A very good overview of coffee from it's beginnings to the present, and a real eye-opener on it's effect on world economy and politics over the centuries. I was especially interested in the sections on ecology and marketing, and found it to be very well researched and complete, yet written in a very catchy way. The illustrations and sidebar notes included fit in nicely. Perfect to accompany "un tinto", as they say in Colombia.

For the birds.....:
Do you enjoy watching the birds frolic around the outdoor bird bath? Do you wait for their return each spring and wonder where they will build their nests this year? As you sit on your patio basking in the morning sun with a warm cup of coffee in your hand listening to the Warbler overhead, do you make the connection between the fluid in your cup and the pleasing notes you are hearing? You should. Gregory Digum and Nina Luttinger, the authors of THE COFFEE BOOK both graduated from Yale, each with a Masters degrees in Environmental Studies. They also run a company called Fair Trade Zone which specializes in ecologically and socially responsible products from around the world. Their imports include organically grown coffee beans. Digum and Luttinger understand the connection between song birds and coffee and that what you drink does matter. If you want to learn more about coffee--how it can be grown intelligently (only stupid people kill the goose that lays the golden egg); how you can help support ecologically and socially responsible practices that affect the lives of other human beings and the conditions under which they live and work; how you can continue to have that cup of morning coffee with a clear conscience; and know that you are helping the song birds survive -- read this book. I found this book informative and helpful. My husband drinks coffee and I plan to buy organically grown coffee in the future. I also plan to put pressure on Starbucks to make sure my cup of Chai Tea is ecologically sound.

An interesting book about the coffee industry:
I never knew the extent of coffee on the economy until I read this book. Not only did it include statistics and graphs, it also included little pictures and quotations that were insightful. I learned about the process of coffee harvesting, roasting, blending and the marketing of it in the U.S. Also there were quirky and cool little facts on coffee's impact on our history. I mean, who knew that the Green Dragon coffeehouse in Boston and Merchant's coffeehouse in New York became meeting houses for the angry American colonists who planned and protested against imported British goods in the midst of the Boston Tea Party?? Overall a good and enjoyable book!