I had the same experience with this book as I had with "Four Fish" by Paul Greenberg: I was amazed that a) a topic so mundane could be narrated in such a fascinating matter b) the author had such incredible depth of knowledge c) I was able to learn about vast chunks of history in the process. Who knew about its interrelation with world commerce and conquering! I do now, thanks to the passionate author! ( )

Hopkins travels to Italy, the U.K. and around the (mostly eastern) States to search for the origins of candy, with much of the focus on the very simple candies like toffees and sugared fruits, things that were truly luxuries at one time. Also covered are the origins of chocolate candy and cocoa and some national confections.

For me, the most interesting sections were Hopkins experiences discovering Italian candy stores while wandering Venice, visiting tiny shops in Scotland and Salem and her description of the tourist-trap that is the Cadbury World
factory tour. Her frequent use of the phrase "my inner child" is grating and the "bittersweet" aspect of the book comes from the history of world slavery which is included in several chapters. Overall a good, though sometimes dry, look at how sweetness was obtained by different cultures and economic classes. ( )