Peter Macinnis

A relatively short history of sugar and the slave trade. This book was humorous in parts and serious in other parts, which I enjoyed. Considering the sordid history of sugar, I'm almost inclined to renounce my sweet tooth! I still feel like I'd like to know more. When I pass the sugar beet factories in eastern Colorado, I'd still like to know what exactly is going on in there. The author did cover sugar beets to some extent, not just sugar cane. He spent a small amount of time on sugar show more substitutes. I wish he had covered some things in greater detail and spent more time on the modern era, but that would also have made a much larger book. show less

As the author admits in the "Note to the reader", he struggled to find a combining theme for this miscellany of facts, and I have to agree. But, by the time I finished, I didn't mind the lack of cohesion - this is a wonderful collection of interesting and invigorating information about life and times in 1859, loosely connected to the environment that led to the publication in that year of Darwin's Origin of Species. The author has an infectious enthusiasm for his material, and happy to show show more his own preferences and prejudices as he does so. Great stuff. Read November 2011. show less

A charming collection of facts, anecdotes, and charming biographical sketches concerning poisons and poisoners. I would hesitate to call this a history, as it is in no way chronologically arranged but only bound in loose, topical arrays. A fascinating read, and a delightful indulgence for one's darker side.

Not what I was expecting. Usually poison books concentrate on Famous cases, but this covered all aspects- poisons in workplace, in warfare, food poisoning, natures poisoners.
The coverage was cursory and there was a certain amount of editorializing going on ( i'm totally with him in being upset about global warming, but it interrupts the flow of the narrative)
Still , all in all, a nice introduction to the topic