Rating: 
Summary: Informative
Review: I found this book generally readable and informative - apparently well-researched, but not scholarly to the point of being burdensom. "Uncommon Grounds" is as much a history of consumerism in the United States, and to some degree the history of the global economy as it is a history of coffee. In many ways this book reminded me of "Made in America" by Bill Bryson.
Rating: 
Summary: Congratulations
Review: I live in Mexico, and grow coffee, and I have to say that this is an excellent book about the general history of coffee, it describes in an quite accurate manner the reality of coffee, its growers, exporters, brokers, roasters and consumers, and like the author says: The best coffee is the one you like!
Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the book on Coca-Cola!
Review: I loved this man's history of Coca-Cola, and his book on coffee is every bit as good. At least I learned one hard fact: coffee beans come in two types -- Arabica and Robusta. The good-tasting ones are the Arabica. The Robustas are vastly inferior, but are more robust plants. One commonly recurring theme then, is coffee merchants trying to sell as much Robusta as possible -- at Arabica prices! Instant coffee is a great refuge for Robusta beans, and so is espresso.Fascinating stuff. Highly recommended! I can't wait for his book on tea (hint hint).
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: I read this book on the beach at Cape Cod. With the exception of too much detail on the international politics of coffee and price control agreements, this is a wonderful read. Great details on the eccentric characters who inhabit coffee's history. Perhaps the most amazing part of the book is the photographic sections. I recommend this book to coffee enthusiasts and people interested in American history.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent light read
Review: I think this guy's ambitions were too big for the scope of this book. He explained in great detail the market for coffee, but he didn't talk enough (for me) about the implications of coffee (has it indeed changed our society?). It was still a very good read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Gift for one who has or thinks knows everything
Review: I thought it was a good blend between history, socio-economic, business theory, anthropology --- who knew coffee was so interesting and me from Seattle - Starbucks land. This is the book for the wine folks, the erudite folks who can liltingly spew New Yorker and McPhee like stories at the drop of a whim, who effortlessly spin factoids into interesting conversation. Everybody drinks it, not everyone knows its pretty amazing journey/history. Thought it read like a novel. Reminded me of McPhee's writing - Good job - I look forward to reading his next entry - obviously a big thinker
Rating: 
Summary: Spin Doctor Fake History
Review: If you are interested in an extremely limited, totally upper middleclass WASP history of only the aspects of coffee that apply to the 20th century US then this book is perfect for you. If, however, you are interested in a balanced history of coffee that applies equal weight to different times, countries, and societal impacts then I very strongly suggest you look elsewhere. I had very much looked forward to reading this book only to be very dissapointed. It is extremely selective in its coverage of 'facts', it is consistently biased in its presentation of the 'winners/losers', and does not describe, or even at times acknowledge, significant affects of coffee in other nations and times other than to do things like quote tittilating paragraphs from very restrictive audience London 'brochures'. Don't waste your time or money on this so-called history, read something relevant.
Rating:
Summary: Not a "caffe latte" history
Review: If you are looking for something light that offers some tips for tasters or a cultural history on some of the exotic places that coffee is grown, or even an appropriate book for your coffee table, I suggest you look elsewhere. This book is none of that. This book is pretty narrow in focus and limits itself to discussions on the history of coffee growing and the business end of the industry. Topics covered include trading, marketing and distribution, consumption patterns, the emergence of cafe's and big coffeehouses, and the social, environmental, and political issues in both the producing and consuming nations. As with so many recently published books this one suffers from a pop-culture sounding title which is deliberately eye-catching, but misleading with its grandiose claim. These titles work best with popular science books about arcane subjects that changed the world set in stories about eccentric heroes and villains. I enjoy those books but this is a different book. This serious work is more referrence book than story. Don't get me wrong though. UNCOMMON GROUNDS: THE HISTORY OF COFFEE AND HOW IT TRANSFORMED OUR WORLD is too well written and has enough anecdotes to provide the "latte" for what could otherwise have been simply a dark and thick text-book. One of the issues that Pendergrast focuses on is the stark social contrasts between where coffee is grown and the markets where it is consumed. As we read on it becomes very apparent that for Pendergrast, researching this book was part moral lesson. He pays special attention to issues of economic justice and makes us see some of coffee's story in this light. He says coffee "laborers earn an average of $3 a day. Most live in abject poverty without plumbing, electricity, medical care, or nutritious foods". After shipping and processing the product arrives here at market where "cosmopolitan consumers routinely pay half a day's Third World wages for a good cup of coffee." Along these same lines Pendergrast talks about a movement in the speciality coffee sector towards the idea of "fair trade" coffee which seeks - in the slogan of one of the companies - to offer "Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup". Equal Exchange in the US and Max Havelaar Quality Mark coffee in Europe are the best known groups that say we should consider human rights issues when choosing a brand. Equally as interesting is the topic of "bird-friendly coffee". Basically it involves a long standing debate over the merits of "shade coffee" (grown under a canopy of trees and thus bird-friendly) or "sun coffee" which is grown on open and exposed slopes. As happens with most things, the discussion ends up as a political argument with opponents of the ecological approach labelling it politically correct coffee. Perhaps that's true, or maybe as others have suggested, it's a brilliant marketing strategy for selling speciality coffee. Pendergrast doesn't say what he thinks but his presentation of a few facts gives us a hint. "Of the fifty-four million Americans who consider themselves birders, twenty-four million actually travelled in 1991 to observe their avian friends. In the process, they spent $2.5 billion - and who knows how much of that went for strong predawn coffee?" Want to know about coffee prices? Prendergast explains. "One thing I have learned through my coffee research: One consumer's poison is another's nectar." In other words it's all relative and price is very subjective. "Then there's the psychological factor. The rarer the bean the more expensive and desirable. Hence, Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain command premium prices, even though most coffee experts consider them bland in comparison to Guatemalan Antigua or Kenya AA." Of course price is a function of supply and demand and no discussion of coffee could end without referrence to the US. We are the largest market and the home of the biggest coffeehouses (Starbucks of course). The Finns however beat us cups down when it comes to per capita consumption. I've lived in both Kenya and Jamaica and have had my fair share of their coffee and am a birder myself. The books coverage of those topics was therefore of particular interest to me. Whatever your tastes and interests and whether or not you even drink coffee, there's much to learn and even more to enjoy in this fascinating look at our favorite brew.
Rating:
Summary: Strong brew!
Review: In Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World, Mark Pendergrast traces the commercial, political, and social impact of the bean from its mythical discovery by an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi to its modern vacuum-packed ubiquity. Pendergrast does best when describing the coffee-drinking habits of populations around the world down through history. Also of great interest are the sections illustrating the impetus that the coffee trade provided empire-building nations during the age of colonialism. Some of the strongest sections of the book deal with the role of the coffee trade in Cold War and contemporary U.S. foreign policy. Pendergrast also devotes ample attention to the social and environmental effects of the cultivation of coffee in the countries where it is grown. The text only lags a bit, however, during the long accounts of relatively mundane business maneuvers by various U.S. companies attempting to gain market supremacy. There is a useful appendix illustrating how to brew "the perfect cup" of coffee.
Rating:
Summary: Coffee makes the world go 'round
Review: It's not everyday you find a five hundred page book on the history of coffee. But then again, most coffee fans take their jobs quite seriously. Author Mark Pendergast has chronicled ups and downs of this remarkable commodity on an unprecedented scale. He takes us from the discovery of the bean in the hills of Ethiopia all the way to the despicable excesses of Starbucks. The first few chapters of this book take us on a jaunty trip through coffee's early history, including the ruthless and colorful European traders who were responsible for introducing the Western world to the bizarre beverage. Pendergast, a businessman by education, then settles into a wonderfully readable economic history. The structure of the material centers on the companies and international agreements that make up the international coffee system. But unlike so many commercially-oriented histories, Uncommon Grounds is eminently readable and captivating. The characters in the saga are fascinating: from American industrialists to Latin American peasants to African warlords to European consumers, there are people involved in this story, not just money. If you have a yen for coffee, grab an espresso and read this book. You won't find weighty theories on how coffee forms the basis of all human history, rather a fun, a caffeine-inspired trip through modernity with java-tinted glasses. -- HistoryHouse.com
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