I just finished reading Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos. I read it over a day and a half. The reviews were almost overwhelming glowing. Notwithstanding I give this book a "three." First, the quibbles.

I read Sugar Changed the World with interest, since I am a history buff. I did find it readable, enjoyable and informative. The book leaves more than a few unanswered questions. First, the discussion about Hawaii does not mention one of the most important and damning facts; that sugar growers toppled the formerly independent monarchy and replaced it with the bogus Republic of Hawaii. The latter "invited" annexation.Recently, Abigail Kawananakoa, Hawaiian princess and last heir to the Hawaiian throne, died at 96, see Abigail Kawananakoa, Hawaiian princess, dies at 96.

Another is a question for academic debate. Weren't the people from the slave source countries in Africa and India pretty miserable already? After all, there has been no widespread kidnapping of U.S. citizens for slave purposes.

This is more of a fact-checking issue. The book stated that India was the first breakaway from Britain since the U.S. had gained independence. That omits Canada, Australia, Ireland and I believe New Zealand. Granted, Canada my have been more "exclaved", to coin a word, that broken away on its own, since Britain had no wish to be embroiled in the U.S. Civil War. These are quibbles, but do somewhat detract from the book for serious, informed readers. ( )

A history of sugar manufacturing and its consequences. Details of the manufacturing process and sugar’s spread around the world. Focus on the abuse and oppression of workers. Wonderful photographs, charts, maps, and documentation. Author Notes, Timelines.

In Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science, Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos set out to share the story of how the human craving for sugar enslaved millions, and maybe billions, of people and how so many abolitionist movements were started because of sugar. The sugar industry has since evolved into a, obviously, multi-billion dollar compnay. Aronson and Budhos accomplish their task by revealing the gruesome truth about the start of the sugar cane industry. This book takes you all the way from the Caribbean to Africa, telling the stories of the families of those enslaved. One hundred percent of the time, the white man who first 'discovered' that area with sugar, enslaved the majority of people there. Of course, the few who were able to escape were quite lucky. The abolitionist movements that started in these areas were all due because of the white male who made so many his slave. In fact, this book never fails to mention just how many were murdered because they didn't do the job that was next to impossible.

This book left me speechless. Although I thought that it was a little too young for my age, it still blew my mind. Sugar is something that many just look over, but Aronson and Budhos really put it into perspective. They go into such well written detail to help the reader picture and understand how awful the sugar industry started out. Without accidentally stumbling upon this book, I would've never even thought about reading a book with 'sugar' in the title. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is willing to read it. It's not too gory, but it still walks you through the horrors. I believe that if people were to read this book, their view on what they think sugar started out with, would completely change. ( )

Interesting subject, and well-written from a certain perspective, but a trifle shallow. The language is not unlike that of a textbook: certain story arcs are brought up, and then completely unexplored. Some of this could be attempts to stay within the scope of their main theme, but my sense is that it's because they're writing for a 5th Grade audience.

I would, however, recommend it for that audience. ( )

I love history. In fact, had I not transferred universities near the end of my undergraduate career, I would have received a Minor in History. But, it's impossible to know everything, which is why history is fascinating. There's always new things to learn, even about tremendous events, like slavery and various worldwide revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Honestly, when I went in to this book I thought to myself, "Sugar? Really? Changed the world did it? I'm sure." But after turning the final page, I knew that the title was entirely appropriate. Humanity's lust for sweetness in their foods and beverages led to countless amounts of atrocities, suffering, and death. It is much like the British with their lust for tea and their East India Company. Because, after all, we westerners can't have tea without sugar.

What Surprised Me?

I could probably pick a couple hundred, as there was something on each page. I read most of this book mouth agape, with widened eyes and raised eyebrows. So I'll just pick a few.

The timeline:

I had no idea just how much of a process it is to make granulated white sugar. And that, in the grand scheme of humanity, massive amounts of the substance for a small price is a relatively new achievement. It's such a basic item for me, a necessity in so many different recipes that I cook, I didn't much think about the history. It blew my mind that this simple little flavoring was once considered a luxury, and a symbol of wealth. Really?! I can drive 3 minutes and buy ten pounds of this stuff for $5. Yet, at one time, this stuff was almost as precious as gold. But it makes sense when I think about it. When reading older literature - Beowulf, for example - they make many mentions to honey. Honey in the food, mead made from honey, etc. Honey was their sweetener, not sugar. And that never stuck a chord until I read this book.

The plantations:

Now, being from Louisiana, I know all about sugar cane and farming. But I guess I always thought it was just one of those things we do differently here - like our music, our food, and just our culture as a whole. When I think plantation, I think cotton. But the fact that the Caribbean was once rife with sugar plantations was an eye opener. I certainly knew of the Haitian slave revolution and Toussaint Louveture, but if I was ever told this was all about growing sugar cane, it never settle in my memories. And it's not just the Caribbean. The fact that this was all over the world - India, Brazil, America, and even Hawai'i - was eye opening. And the fact that there were Hawaiian sugar plantations using indentured servitude as late as the early-20th century was so surprising that I ran out of confused exclamations to use while I was reading.

They make sugar from beets?!

WHAT?! No way! Beets are so gross! How does something I love so much come from something I abhor?! And they could do this over a hundred years ago? If I saw the headline "Scientists Figure out how to Make Sugar from Beets" a day before reading this book, I would have been amazed. But to find out that not only was this done widely over a century ago - under Napoleon, no less - but that someone in Russia made his riches by formulating a way to make beet sugar just look like can sugar, just...WHAT?! I wish I could be more eloquent about this, but I can't. Every time I think about this, even with the prior knowledge now safely tucked away, I just shake my head. It's crazy!

What did the author think I already knew?

This was a bit difficult for me as I do have a pretty decent working knowledge of Western Civilization. And this book is more of a historical overview than anything. It's not like some history books that I've read with a title akin to "Sugar Plantations on the Island of Haiti from 1740-50." So there weren't many places where I was even slightly befuddled. But still, there were a couple.

Mills:

Here's what I know about mills: Windmills and watermills. I've heard it in other contexts - specifically Sugar mill in this situations - but I just always pictured them as a building or structure with some appendage that spins from natural forces to make power. But in this book, the sugar mill is very important. I have no clue what that is or how it works. All I know is that sugar cane goes in, things happen, and then we have granulated white sugar. This is something I have to research when I have some free time. It's likely a fascinating process. I've seen the Domino factory near where I live, but brick, mortar, and a couple smoke stacks don't really give a full picture of how it works...like windmills.

William Allen:

I speak of this Quaker specifically because he is the name that most stood out, but on more than a couple occasions they make mention to a person, give a brief explanation on them, and move on. William Allen was the most egregious example of this. On page 104 of "Sugar Changed the World" when speaking of British slavery abolition, we are given this sentence:

"The Quaker William Allen, who had sworn off sugar for nearly fifty years while he battled against slavery, drank his first cup of tea with a spoonful of white, free sugar."

As far as I know, this is the only mention of William Allen in this book. Clearly, he is a British abolitionist. But other than that and being a Quaker, I have no knowledge of this man. Why this one sentence on him is even there is quite confusing.

What challenged, changed, or confirmed what I knew?

Challenged:

My knowledge of the British Empire, and their brutality and enslavement, was always based on tea - stemming from the East India Company. I never thought about the possibility of the sugar that they put into their tea would also be cause for so much savagery. And as much as this book posits that sugar was just as big, I still debate that stance in my head. As much as they did for sugar, I still don't know enough about this subject to definitively say that it held more weight than the tea itself.

Changed:

This is embarrassing for me, as I grew up in the American South...but apparently, I didn't know what a plantation actually was. I just thought "big farm, horrible people." But plantations are much more systematic than that. I didn't know they only focused on one crop. I should have, as they are literally called X plantations depending on their crops, but it never dawned on me that there were no chickens, cows, cabbage, peppers, etc. I spent much of my childhood summers on my grandfather farm helping him grow a bevy of different crops - mostly strawberries. Large, single crop farms, seemed like a 20th century Monsanto corporate thing to me. But to find out that this business strategy of human suffering started with plantations was a revelation.

Confirmed:

Just like you never enter into a land war in Russia, in the 18th and 19th centuries, you don't try and enslave Haitians. One of my favorite - though just awful - historical events is Toussaint Louveture and the Haitian slave revolution. Though it ends poorly, especially considering the state of the country in present times, it is an amazing sotry of oppressed people rising up against the awful human beings who "owned" them. At the height of the British Empire, when the phrase "The sun never sets..." was not just metaphorical but literal, they tried to defeat Haiti. They lost. Badly. When Napoleon, who is near Alexander the Great in terms of war strategies, at the height of his powers in France, tried to defeat Haiti, he was pushed back. Then, less than 10 years he made the big mistake of getting into a land war with Russia. You think he would have learned. The Haitian revolution is something I learned about in a college classroom, and did independent study on afterwards. It should be taught extensively in high school, in my opinion.

Final Thoughts:

This book is an amazing piece of research. I have much more education in Western Civilization than the average person and I had no idea how important such a basic flavoring had on our species. And that every time I eat a Chip's A'hoy cookie or pour half a teaspoon of sugar into my Green Tea, I am imbibing a history of brutality. Sugar, indeed, changed the world. ( )