Candy: A Century of Panic and Pleasure

Ms Kawash has done a tremendous amount of research, and her ability to effectively set a context for each era she explores is admirable. (Candy in the 1830s was almost exclusively the food stuffs of the rich. The average child could expect a special treat of sugared plums once a year at Xmas.) She's also adept at showing the give and take flow of popular thought on contemporary foodstuffs, especially at the turn of the 20th Century where calorie counting was invented mostly to make sure people got enough nutrition, not to limit their food intake. The book does bog down in a little as the author tries to use a unifying theme of the value/danger of candy, but that is a minor complaint. It seems like this book didn't really take off; I managed to buy a nearly new copy for a penny, plus shipping, and I'm not really sure why it didn't. It's a terrific read.

The book was shipped promptly and arrived in great condition. I would buy from Trinh Ho again.The book itself is fascinating. Well worth reading for a person interested in food history.

Finally! Samira Kawash has written a long-overdue book, showing that candy is not just a fun and pleasurable indulgence but a significant part of American social, economic, industrial, gender, and cultural history. Historians for too long have overlooked candy and its role in American history. Kawash's lively and well-researched book takes candy out of the realm of nostalgia and gives it the analysis it deserves, revealing it to be twice as fascinating and much more deeply significant than as you thought it was. What a great book.

This book was pretty good. Kind of dry and tough to get through at some points. I would even call it somewhat academic. Otherwise pretty good, I would recommend it.

Intelligent, thoughtful analysis of candy and what it can tell us about ourselves. So well-written and fun to read, too!

I did not read the book-it was a gift to my granddaughter the pastrybaker. She absolutely loved it and I will get to it soon.

More technical that I expected.

Unlike actual candy, this book was quite substantial. I was expecting something like Steve Almond's Candyfreak from about ten years ago, in which he reminisced about his favorite candies from childhood and investigated their origins and and histories. It was a personal account, bolstered by some research and social history and was entertaining.Samira Kawash doesn't indulge in her own memories of candies past. Instead she spends much of the book examining the history of candy in America, from its beginnings in the 19th century to the present. Advertising, wartime, social vices, nutrition, holidays, and the Depression, all through the lens of candy, and with plenty of endnotes and bibliography to back it up. In many cases, she discovers that the more things change, the more they stay the same. A hundred years ago, advertisers encouraged busy people to eat a candy bar for lunch for energy and nutrition, and a great bargain as well. But an ad campaign that wouldn't fly these days was the one from the 1930s that encouraged people to light up a cigarette to keep from snacking on fattening candy.In addition to history, Kawash investigates the sticky question of what is the difference between candy and food. Marshmallows are generally considered candy, but what about cereal that has marshmallow bits in it? Or fruit roll-ups that are mostly sugar but contain a little fruit? Power bars that contain mostly sugar, fat, and salt, but also provide a little protein? She argues that it matters what we call these foods, and cites evidence that even when people know the ingredients of their snacks, they eat more of it when it's labeled as fruit snacks rather than candy.Despite its sometimes serious tone, Candy: A Century of Panic and Pleasure, is a fascinating book and a lot of fun.

Spannende Kulturgeschichte der Candy bars im amerikanischen Raum. Entstehung, Marketing und Verkaufsstrategien werden gut beschrieben, gleichzeitig gewinnt man Einblicke in die damalige Zeit. Der Bogen spannt sich bis in die Neuzeit, auch der Wandel der Zutaten findet Erwähnung. Insgesamt eine umfassende, gut geschriebene Kulturgeschichte der süßen Riegel.