Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence

For most of us, chocolate conjures up images of candy or sweet desserts. But the ancient Maya knew it as a spicy drink used in religious ceremonies. And to the Aztec, who had to trade for cacao, the coveted seeds served as money. This delectable book -- the only pictorial survey of the entire history of chocolate -- explores the relationship between this rainforest treasure and human civilization through the ages.Chocolate's roles in the history of slavery, war, and medicine are also here -- in a book that accompanies a major exhibition, originated by The Field Museum in Chicago, that will travel across the U.S. for four years. As they savor this unique, fact-packed treasury, chocoholics will view America's favorite food through the lenses of history and ecology, anthropology and economics, conservation and popular culture.

No other sweet so intensely excites the human appetite as chocolate. One of the many food gifts from the New World that modern eaters take for granted, chocolate has a long, tumultuous history. A new museum exhibition organized by Chicago's Field Museum and traveling around the country traces chocolate's history and manufacture from its Aztec roots to its conquering of the world's palates. Written to accompany this exhibition, Lopez's consummately readable text vies with the book's superior color photography for the reader's attention. Lopez's history of chocolate and its Central American origins provides fodder for many a class report. Europeans contributed the idea of adding sugar and milk to the bitter product of cacao bean fermentation and roasting, and the modern idea of chocolate began to emerge. Lopez also gives insight into the economics of chocolate manufacture and traces the rise of chocolate barons such as Cadbury in Britain and Hershey in the U.S. Highly recommended for all library food-history collections. Mark Knoblauch
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