From The New England Journal of Medicine, April 19, 2001
This book covers the history and social effects of the principal beverages that contain caffeine, notably coffee and tea. Products of cacao, chocolate that is eaten and drunk, and the soft drinks that contain caffeine (principally colas) are also covered. The historical origins of coffee, tea, and cacao are described, as are the various fascinating ways they made their way into world culture. Some of the main features of this story are told with a theme of geographic spread and with a description of effects of the arrival of "the drug," as the authors often refer to caffeine, on existing cultures. How the different beverages were received (or rejected) by different cultures and by different strata and segments of each culture makes a rich and exciting story. Insights emerge as to how the various civilizations worked. The pleasure of reading is enhanced by the authors' eye for beauty and the many appropriate half-tone illustrations. The scholarship is impressive; many of the most famous figures of the past 500 and more years make brief appearances. Among them are Chinese emperors, Zen Buddhist monks in Japan, nameless Olmecs of Mesoamerica, and then Cortes and Montezuma and Charles V. The conquest of Europe by the drug from Turkish and African sources is also covered. The familiar names of great historical figures appear on almost every page, tying this account in with our knowledge of history and making it more real. The text is rich with information, yet it is easy and pleasant to read. Social factors are discussed. For example, there are comparisons of the tea culture of England with that of Japan and comparisons of both with the coffee culture of the United States. The duality of the culture of coffee (as in coffee houses) and the culture of tea (as in tea shops, tea gardens, and afternoon tea) is emphasized and illustrated with a list of more than 30 word pairs. One word in each pair is labeled the "coffee aspect" and the other the "tea aspect." The list of coffee aspects starts with "male," "boisterous," and "bohemian" and ends with "Balzac," whereas the list of tea aspects starts with "female," "decorous," and "conventional" and ends with "Proust." Cola beverages are said not to have a long enough history to have features as well differentiated as these, but they do have distinctive associations, such as "youth, high energy, America, pop culture, and `good clean fun."' Although the authors emphasize that all these popular beverages contain the drug caffeine, the diversity of the cultures associated with the different beverages suggests that caffeine is only one factor leading to their consumption. True to its title, the book has little to say about alcohol, but the authors do make the important point that, at least in Europe and North America and at least in the large towns, raw water was not fit to drink until late in the 19th century. The increase in tea and coffee drinking offered an alternative to the usual beverages: beer, gin, and rum. The authors credibly associate this shift with a decrease in alcohol intake, to the benefit of society. In the second half of the book, the nature of the story changes. The urbane historical perspective gives way to more recent concerns, including a discussion of what might be called huckstering by purveyors of caffeine products. Almost the final third of the book is devoted to the chemistry, pharmacology, and medical aspects of caffeine. I do not think that in a book of this size it is possible to present enough of an understanding for readers to reach their own conclusions on adequate grounds about the health and safety aspects of caffeine, and in many instances the original sources must be scrutinized for the adequacy of the evidence. In addition, there are errors. For example, a woman is said to have had a serum caffeine concentration of almost 300 mg per milliliter, which is many times the solubility of caffeine. Readers can remain confused, they can accept the often implicit conclusions of the writers, or they can opt out and simply trust the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A number of minor matters follow. Pure caffeine is variously described as "highly toxic" or "extremely toxic." An agent that can be ingested in amounts of several grams with relative impunity would not customarily be considered very toxic. A number of common foods -- dry mustard, horseradish, or cayenne pepper, for instance -- would not go down well as boluses of several grams. The poison of the puffer fish, whose flesh is eaten in Japan, is highly toxic, being hazardous in quantities thousands of times smaller than ordinarily consumed quantities of caffeine. Finally, the authors aver that the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) was founded to help forestall efforts to regulate caffeine. But the FDA was regulating caffeine long before the ILSI was formed. The Caffeine Technical Committee of the ILSI was formed by interested companies to sponsor research on questions on caffeine raised by the FDA and others. It is prohibited from lobbying. Peter B. Dews, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D.
Copyright © 2001 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.


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


The Washington Post Book World (February 18, 2001)
"Flavor reminiscent of Daniel Boorstin's The Discoverers...engaging, easy style...like a jolt of good java, or...a good cup of tea."


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


Hugh Kenner in the The Wall Street Journal (January 30, 2001)
"A magnificently researched book filled with revelations about what has become, for many of us, a routine part of each day's consumption."


The Cleveland Plain Dealer(January 14, 2001)
"With impressive felicity...marshals history, chemistry, medicine, cultural anthropology, psychology, philosophy...fascinating, generously illustrated."


The London Guardian (February 10, 2001)
"Here at last is a lavishly produced history of the world's favourite mood enhancer, from Mayan chocolate to the Japanese tea ceremony."


The Wall Street Journal
"...a magnificently researched book filled with revelations about what has become, for many of us...routine..."


Book 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, head-achy 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--how it was discovered, its early uses, and the unexpected parts it has played 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. Some Highlights From the World of Caffeine Balzac's addiction to caffeine drove him to eat coffee, as some schizophrenic patients are observed to do today, and may have killed him
Mary Tuke breaks the male monopoly on tea in England in 1725
The ways caffeine functions as a "smart pill"
Goethe's responsibility for the discovery of caffeine
Did a mini Ice Age help bring coffee, tea and chocolate to popularity in Europe?
What is the mystery of coffee's origin?
As good as gold: the stories of how caffeine, in its various forms, was used as cash in China, Africa, Central America and Egypt
What does the civet cat have to do with the most costly coffee on earth today? The World of Caffeine is a captivating tale of art and society -- from India to Balzac to cybercafes -- and the ultimate caffeine resource.


About the Author
Bennett Alan Weinberg is a medical and science writer. He is also chairman of his own advertising and public relations firm whose clients include several of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies.
Bonnie K. Bealer is a researcher and writer trained in psychology and anthropology. The authors live in Philadelphia.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"This book is not about drug addiction, the preparation of gourmet beverages, psychology, religion, social classes, international trade, or love, art, or beauty. But, in telling the story of the natural and cultural history of caffeine, it necessarily encompasses all of these topics and many aspects of the human condition, fully considering the health impact of caffeine, and also taking an engaging tour of the fascinating cultural history of the drug that - through the agency of some of their favorite beverages - has captivated men and women, young and old, rich and poor in virtually every society on earth." "The World of Caffeine is the first natural, cultural, and social history of our favorite mood enhancer - how it was discovered, its early uses, and the unexpected parts it has played in medicine, botany, 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 that constitute the history and intercourse of nations. Its 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." "This is a tale of art and society - from India to Balzac to cybercafes - and the ultimate caffeine resource."--BOOK JACKET.

FROM THE CRITICS

Cleveland Plain Dealer

With impressive felicity, Weinberg and Bealer marshal the forces of history, chemistry, medicine, cultural anthropology, psychology, philosophy and even a little religion to tell caffeine's complicated story￯﾿ﾽfascinating, generously illustrated volume.

Internet Book Watch

Most Americans use some form of caffine on a daily basis, and it's the only addictive substance which is freely available almost everywhere. World Of Caffine provides the first cultural and social history of caffine, examining the science and health facts surrounding caffine and how caffine spread around the world. The historical and social backgrounds are fascinating.

Kirkus Reviews

A savory and spirited cultural history of caffeine, with summaries of pertinent scientific and medical research on the properties and effects of the world's drug of choice. Weinberg and Bealer (freelance writers with backgrounds, respectively, in the hard and social sciences) fill their amazing book to the brim with a challenging mix of history, science, medicine, anthropology, sociology, and popular culture, then add a dash of humor, a pinch of polemic, and a dollop of healthful skepticism. Caffeine, a"bitter, highly toxic white powder, readily soluble in boiling water," was first isolated and named in 1819 by a young German physician. But it had been employed as far back as the middle of the 15th century, when the first coffee was brewed in southern Arabia. By the middle of the 16th century,"coffeehouses [had sprung] up in every major city in Islam"; soon, travelers to the Middle East sampled the drink, enjoyed its effects, and took it back to their own countries. The authors then focus on tea, establishing 220 b.c. as"genuinely the earliest reference" to the beverage and speculating that the Chinese may have learned to brew it from people in northern India or southeast Asia. They trace the other principal dietary source of caffeine, chocolate, to the Mesoamerican Olmecs, who flourished from 1500 to 400 b.c. and first used the cacao bean to make a chocolate drink. Chronicling the spread of these substances to Europe, Weinberg and Bealer note that coffee was often touted for its supposed medicinal properties ("comforts the Brain and dries up Crudities in the Stomach," claimed one 18th-century publication). In the most engaging portion here, a long section dealing withtheculture of caffeine, the authors trace its social role. Wisely, they delay until the final chapters slower-going discussions of the chemistry of caffeine and the immense amount of medical research devoted to it. Well-researched, briskly written, full-bodied, and flavorful. (50 halftones and line drawings)