This comprehensive work provides an account of caffeine's impact on humankind. Beginning in Ethiopia, the author sails along the same route that carried the first beans to Yemen 1500 years ago, and literally travels the world in his mission to prove that coffee is the driving force in history.
Our history has been peppered with food taboos that have shaped civilizations. Allen's historical smorgasbord includes the importance of chocolate in the French Revolution, how a spat between chefs caused a rift in the Catholic Church that lasted a thousand years and why Caesar fought food.