Mark Pendergrast

A history of the elite medical corps at the forefront of the world's most dangerous epidemics cites their victories over such diseases as polio, cholera, and smallpox.

From the Publisher: Uncommon Grounds is the definitive history of coffee-from its discovery on an Ethiopian mountainside to the age of Starbucks and the coffee crisis of the twenty-first century. A sweeping epic, Uncommon Grounds uses coffee production, trade, and consumption as a window through which to view broad historical themes: the clash and blending of cultures, slavery, the rise of brand marketing, global inequities, fair trade, revolutions, health scares, environmental issues, and the rediscovery of quality. Replete with a cast of eccentric characters-all of them suffused with a passion for the golden bean-Uncommon Grounds is nothing less than a coffee-flavored history of the world, the classic work on coffee culture, fully updated for our times.

How did an innocuous soft drink, more than 99% sweetened water, come to be regarded as "the sublimated essence of all that America stands for"? For God, Country and Coca-Cola is a cultural, social, and economic history of America as seen through the green glass of a Coke bottle. And what a quintessentially American tale it is. Coca-Cola began humbly as a patent medicine amid the fervor and chaos of Reconstruction Atlanta. A shrewd marketeer saw its value as a beverage, and it rapidly grew through the Gilded Age to become the dominant consumer product of the American Century. The key to Coca-Cola's success was ubiquitous advertising, as the Company's master myth-makers first created and then quenched the thirst of a nation. And when World War II carried American troops overseas, the soft drink went as well, laying the foundation for an enduring and lucrative presence. Drawing on previously untapped archival sources, For God, Country and Coca-Cola paints vivid portraits of the entrepreneurs who led the Company: pious Methodist Asa Candler, who nourished the fledgling enterprise across the threshold of a century; cigar-chomping Robert Woodruff, who hosted presidents at his Georgia plantation; and the aristocratic Roberto Goizueta, whose cosmopolitan background gave him the vision to reach global markets. All have left their indelible imprints on Coca-Cola. Here, too, is a colorful supporting cast of hustlers, swindlers, ad men, and con men who have made the soft drink the most recognizable trademark in the world. The underside of Coca-Cola is also here: shady legal proceedings, cozy arrangements with politicians, brutal treatment of competitors and Third World workers. But, despite its occasionally tarnished image, the Company has marched zealously forward with its cherished product - and its global conquest. Provocative, controversial, and always entertaining, For God, Country and Coca-Cola reveals how Coke has irrevocably transformed our world. As family saga, cultural history, and, finally, the complete story of an American icon, this book is "the Real Thing."

"The Akha hill Tribe of Thailand has a long, tumultuous history. Politics, economics, and land development consistently worked against the Akha's desire to move away from their dependency on opium production and create a stable future for their children. That all changed in 2006 when prominent businessman John Darch met with entrepreneur Wicha Promyong. Their meeting resulted in the establishment of an equal partnership business venture that goes beyond fair trade: the Doi Chaang Coffee Company. Beyond Fair Trade tells the story of the growth of this unique partnership, its successes and challenges, and the people behind it."--