Black Gold: The Dark History of Coffee

By Antony Wild

Book Overview

The extraordinary tale of the wildfire spread of a drink which is embedded in our history and our daily cultural life - and which provides a compelling allegory for corporate greed, mercantile ruthlessness and global expansion.

Arguably the most valuable legally traded commodity in the world after oil, coffee's dark five-hundred year history links alchemy and anthropology, poetry and politics, and science and slavery. Revolutions have been hatched in coffee houses, secret socities and commercial alliances formed, and politics and art endlessly debated.

With over a hundred million people looking to it for their livelihood, the coffee industry is now the world's largest employer and the financial lifeblood of many third-world countries (or the blood with which they feed the global capitalist vampire, depending on your point of view). But with world prices at a historic low, the future looks uncertain. In this thought-provoking expos , Antony Wild, coffee trader and historian, explores coffee's dismal colonial past and its perilous corporate present, revealing the shocking exploitation at the heart of the industry.

To many people, coffee has become largely just another commodity. Black Gold restores our faith in the mystery of this unique beverage.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1841156566
• ISBN13: 9781841156569
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 362 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating blend of History, Myth, and Speculation

This is at my local coffee shop and I read some of it everytime I have coffee. Overall, it is fascinating and well written. Wonderful to know more about my dailey brew.

A spider shouldn't drink it

Antony Wild's (2004) book is The Good Tea and Coffee Company book of the month for January 2007. At the outset, it claims to be a 'dark' history and it certainly doesn't disappoint in that respect. Though sounding a little extravagant in portraying coffee as the 'forbidden fruit' in the Garden of Eden of the Old Testament, each chapter touches on sensitive ethical issues which are moving ever higher on the priority list of European consumers. Tracing the origins of the cultivation of coffee back to the Yemen and the early attempts to create plantations elsewhere by The East India Company, we are taken on a journey of unexpected complexity as coffee finds its way into the social and religeous infrastracture of every continent it touches. By the end of the book, we've had a lot more for our money than simply history. Antony Wild makes us look anew at something we have grown up with and almost taken for granted. He gives us the tools we need to think again about coffee - to bring it out of the darkness.. and into the light.

Wild delivers a strong brew to the US

This is my first introduction to anything about coffee's history and how coffee affects the global market and economy. I am simply a person who likes my morning joe and an occasional coffee house treat! I found the history part of this book fascinating. However, was taken a-back by Wild's strong anti-US feelings about the USA's treatment of Central and South American countries. His treatment seems biased--still, the reader needs to remember that he's a Brit living in France. Overall, a good read.