Rating: 
Summary: Decent book
Review: This book is about coffee. Obvious, right? Yet, it is also about the larger world out there. Our kind author isn't just using coffee as a metaphor, but instead uses Coffee as the proverbial "tip of the iceberg" as a way to talk about larger historical, political and social issues in a way that is palatable to the average reader. Coffee has had a major impact on the United States, from our very beginnings in the Boston Tea Party to our present day position in the land of 24-hour a day television, which of course really means 24 hours a day of advertising. How has this affected our place in the world? Americans drink a lot of coffee to get a quick pick me up. And that mood enhancing aspect is also included in similar products... those similar products include Cola, Tea, and all sorts of tricked out street drugs designed to make us feel better about who or what we are. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing really isn't important to the discussion at this level, just that we are aware of it. Coffee has also affected our political dealing with the rest of the world, be it our weird love-hate relationship with South and Central America as a source of coffee, and more currently various illegal drugs. If we weren't buying it they wouldn't be selling it to us. It has also entered into all kinds of health topics and considerations. Coffee has had a major social and political impact on the Untied States. We use it, and similar products and drugs for various reasons. We threaten political and military consequenences to those who have provided us those things. The "pick me up" aspect makes possible a longer workday for workers in modern society... and this can have productivity increases for companies and people. The advertising methods, those in many ways were invented to "push" coffee are everywhere in our social framework. And we haven't gotten to coffee's health affects. Is coffee good for you? A simple question that doctors is still trying to properly answer. It has some kind of health impact on our people, but what and how and why are still, in many ways, to be answered. There is a lot to be said, and my rambling review gives an idea of the many topics this most excellent book covers. But most importantly, the author tells one how to brew a good cup of coffee.
Rating: 
Summary: The History of the Coffee Business
Review: This book outlines the history of coffee with a focus on the industry as a whole. It's main focus is on the late 19th century to the present. I think it provides an excellent overview and history of the business. I found it very readable and quite interesting. It is not dry like you would expect a business history book to be. Pendergrast does a good job of sprinkling in tidbits of facts throughout the book without bogging down. He also illuminates some of the drama behind the early days of small roasters in America growing and consolidating. This book is not for people who want to learn how to make coffee (it does have a few pages in an appendix on this). It is purely about the history of the business with a focus on events during the 20th century. I disagree with some comments made about this book. This book does reveal how coffee has transformed several Latin American and African countries even to this day. It does not spend entire chapters on specific countries but rather surveys several countries and the impact the industry has had. I thought Pendegrast did a fairly good job at balancing the different perspectives of retailers, roasters, importers, and growers. He also sheds some light onto the origins of specialty coffee and the explosion of retailers such as Starbucks. Some have argued this book is leftist, others argue it does not adequately cover the exploitation of Latin America and Africa by the industry. I think the author does a fairly good job of portraying both views, perhaps with a bit of leaning left. Pendergrast reveals fascinating personalities such as C.W. Post the inventor of Postum and many other health cereals still produced today or Howard Schultz - without whom Starbucks would never have been the phenomenon it is, but rather a regional roaster and retailer at best.
I do agree with one reader's review - this is not a coffee table book. It is a history book - a history of the commodity we know as the coffee bean. Since it is such a book - expect it to read like a history book, a good, readable history book. It is not riveting, rather it is interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't deliver
Review: This book's title promises much more than it delivers -- it is mostly a mishmash of information on pricing and policies and just about nothing on how it "transformed our world."
Rating:
Summary: Slooooooow but informative
Review: This informative book is truly a joy to read, and any coffee drinker (serious coffee drinker, anyways) would benefit from this work. It offers an enlightening insight into the incredible coffee economy and outlines the disproportionate balance of profit that is a result from this inconspicuous plant. Not focused simply on the drink itself, Pendergrast writes of those this commodity impacts. Look for more than amusing tales of the coffee world and trite chapters on how to best brew the beans; this book is for those who are seriously interested in their favorite drink or who are curious about the history of a world commodity that has shaped both our economic and natural environment.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read.
Review: This informative book is truly a joy to read, and any coffee drinker (serious coffee drinker, anyways) would benefit from this work. It offers an enlightening insight into the incredible coffee economy and outlines the disproportionate balance of profit that is a result from this inconspicuous plant. Not focused simply on the drink itself, Pendergrast writes of those this commodity impacts. Look for more than amusing tales of the coffee world and trite chapters on how to best brew the beans; this book is for those who are seriously interested in their favorite drink or who are curious about the history of a world commodity that has shaped both our economic and natural environment.
Rating:
Summary: A book of the Big Picture on Coffee.
Review: This is a book of the Big Picture of Coffee. It gave details reports on the legend, history, the distribution, the economical and political values, health issues abd environmental influences of coffee since it was introduced to the world from its place of origin. The book also talks about the likelihood of the coffee plantation workers or owners and how they are being manuiplated and deprived of their rewards and resources by the people who control the capital or those who have political power. A criticism I have to make is that the book reports little on what the concerned people have done to help the poor coffee workers to improve their lot. In sum, this is a good book on the economical, political and social issues of coffee. This is not a book about beans, brewing method or equipments.
Rating:
Summary: Coffee may be worse than cattle!
Review: This is a great book that details the origins of coffee from 6th century Ethiopia to today's Starbucks. On many levels this book succeeds. It has a lot of coffee trivia that is both amusing and thoughtprovoking, it shows how coffee gained its relevance in today's society, and lastly it puts the social and political aspects of coffee under a microscope. For 11 years I have been a futures and commodities investor, broker, and author. One of my favorite futures commodities is coffee. This book has added to my knowledge base by 10 times. I feel I have a deeper understanding and appreciation of java and in the long run I suspect that this will improve my investments in coffee futures. My hat is off to the author. Congrats on a fine book.
Rating:
Summary: A Tour De Force
Review: This is an incredible book. The research must have taken years. The author provides fascinating stories over hundreds of years of coffee's history. I was most taken with the stuff on coffee in America over the last couple of centuries. The author obviously respects Alfred Peet tremendously, but he also gives a balanced account of the rise of Starbucks. And the C.W. Post section is hilarious. Americana at its best.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining, informative history of coffee.
Review: Uncommon Grounds covers everything from the "discovery" of coffee to its social and political impact on growing and consuming nations. It is filled with memorable people and entertaining anecdotes. My coffee consumption doubled while reading the book, and I found new beans to enjoy. Uncommon Grounds is a treat for the palate and the mind!
Rating: 
Summary: Solid information, becoming a bit dated
Review: Uncommon Grounds is still very useful in terms of understanding the history of coffee... but many references which discuss the immediate economic situation are, of course, becoming dated. A revision would be welcome.
| 
