Reviews
Coffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug by Augustine Sedgewick
dashadashahi's review against another edition
3.0
As others have mentioned, this book pacts a lot of information in here. I wouldn't say it feels disjointed because each topic covered makes sense in the context of this very global food history. However, I think the issue is that the author continually returns to the Hill's family experience. This could have been a point to ground the reader but it just gets confusing, lost in the rest of the information, and, frankly, forced after a while. Anyways, now I know how ports assessed beans on their handsomeness.
ally_bur's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.5
The author expertly weaves together a history of the coffee trade in El Salvador with philosophical conceptions of work, energy and what drives people to work to describe the “ways of forcing people to work voluntarily to meet their basic needs.” A sharp critique of capitalism and another look at how US intervention in Latin America has disastrous consequences.
rick2's review against another edition
4.0
If you want a lesson on what it takes to start an empire, here it is.
An interesting combination of macro and micro economic factors that went into making James Hill one of the largest coffee producers in El Salvador. Interspersed with a general history and basic information on the bean iteself. From small ritualistic beginnings in Yemen to a global plant, coffee is ubiquitous. Its rise to prominence can be correlated to the rise of capitalism as a global system. This book does not take a kind look at the imperialist bent of capitalism, and the author is not subtle with his opinion on coffee being a tool of a overzealous bourgeoisie, the issue being brought up no less than 20 or so times. That being said, he makes his point and after reading through his thoughts those 20 or so times, I would now agree.
I was impressed by the depth of inquiry into methods and conditions the El Salvadorian people endured. And it really set the stage for the rise of communist thought in the region. It really illustrated how people cling to ideologies that are not the best long term, but represent a change from the status quo. (cough* blockchin* cough).
Stylistically, the author at times appears to have drunk too much coffee himself, as the thread of the book will jump all over. One page we are talking about shipping and roasting, the next is a discussion of caloric intake and the minimum amount of food a human needs to survive. It works sometimes, it doesn't at others. I found it less interesting and engaging as the book wore on, as skipping back and forth across decades and continents regularly became tiresome.
Overall, good read, interesting read, but a bit scattered.
An interesting combination of macro and micro economic factors that went into making James Hill one of the largest coffee producers in El Salvador. Interspersed with a general history and basic information on the bean iteself. From small ritualistic beginnings in Yemen to a global plant, coffee is ubiquitous. Its rise to prominence can be correlated to the rise of capitalism as a global system. This book does not take a kind look at the imperialist bent of capitalism, and the author is not subtle with his opinion on coffee being a tool of a overzealous bourgeoisie, the issue being brought up no less than 20 or so times. That being said, he makes his point and after reading through his thoughts those 20 or so times, I would now agree.
I was impressed by the depth of inquiry into methods and conditions the El Salvadorian people endured. And it really set the stage for the rise of communist thought in the region. It really illustrated how people cling to ideologies that are not the best long term, but represent a change from the status quo. (cough* blockchin* cough).
Stylistically, the author at times appears to have drunk too much coffee himself, as the thread of the book will jump all over. One page we are talking about shipping and roasting, the next is a discussion of caloric intake and the minimum amount of food a human needs to survive. It works sometimes, it doesn't at others. I found it less interesting and engaging as the book wore on, as skipping back and forth across decades and continents regularly became tiresome.
Overall, good read, interesting read, but a bit scattered.
jonathanvdh's review against another edition
5.0
Een hallucinante en haast geestverruimende leeservaring over de connectie tussen voedsel, werk en het ontstaan van de moderne geglobaliseerde wereld. Misschien wel het beste non-fictieboek dat ik ooit las. Het zal moeilijk worden om nog gedachteloos een kopje koffie te drinken. Of überhaupt om nog gedachteloos een moderne mens te zijn. 'We have no shared idea of what it means to be connected to faraway people and places through things. We have no common language for talking about the world in terms of the lives ours depend on.'
tedbaldwin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.75
fabrychenko's review against another edition
4.0
Люблю кофе. Люблю истории о кофе. Получилось познавательно. Вот только текста непосредственно о кофе было процентов 30. Остальное - это история Сальвадора с упором даже не на экономические тенденции 19-20 веков, а на политику.
Почему именно Сальвадор был оплотом сюжета, и почему практически никак не затронули другие страны-производители кофе (Бразилия, Колумбия, Никарагуа и т.д), для меня осталось загадкой
Почему именно Сальвадор был оплотом сюжета, и почему практически никак не затронули другие страны-производители кофе (Бразилия, Колумбия, Никарагуа и т.д), для меня осталось загадкой
sophied99's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5