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The Devil's Cup : A History of the World According to Coffee
The Devil's Cup A History of the World According to Coffee
Author: Stewart Lee Allen
In this captivating book, Stewart Lee Allen treks three-quarters of the way around the world on a caffeinated quest to answer these profound questions: Did the advent of coffee give birth to an enlightened western civilization? Is coffee, indeed, the substance that drives history? From the cliffhanging villages of Southern Yemen, where coffee be...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780345441492
ISBN-10: 0345441494
Publication Date: 3/4/2003
Pages: 240
Rating:
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 14

3.3 stars, based on 14 ratings
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Devil's Cup : A History of the World According to Coffee on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Part travelogue, part philosophical musing about coffee and its effect on society.
Punkin avatar reviewed The Devil's Cup : A History of the World According to Coffee on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Follows the author on his quest to discover the roots and influences of coffee on civilization. Found the author's often dangerous travails into communities wrought with civil war and dangerous occupations all on a quest for a single cup of coffee to continue his "research" to be, not exciting, as I'm sure he feels it is-- but simply cocky and needlessly reckless. The author, after all, comes across not as a writer utterly devoted to the exploration of his subject, but a hapless thrill-seeker who flaunts his repeated attempts to endanger himself. The writing is mediocre, at best, and the history of "coffee" as he presents is not truly organized in a logical or linear fashion and is based instead around the authors timetable and travels. Consequently, the "history" must be weeded out from the self-serving auto-biographical horn-tooting he is doing through most of it. If you are looking for a good historically documented work in this book, I'd look elsewhere.
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