Rating: 
Summary: sweet reading
Review: Almond is at the heart of all things sweet and otherwise. Having seen an early version of this book, I can assure you that what you've come to expect from this writer you'll will continue to get in spades here. A genuine treat! Sugar free, too!
Rating:
Summary: Tasty!
Review: Almond takes a wonderful journey through the many candy corporations in America. As always, Almond delivers the goods with great humor and literary excellence. You get not only a first hand account of some the inner workings of these candy factories, but you have it presented beautifully, in Almond's own special way.He takes the reader to the more sublime makers, everything from Necco (been a while since you had a Mary Jane?) to the Idaho Candy Company who makes something called an Idaho Spud. The book will find appeal with readers of literature as well as those of us who jones for a little extra sugar in our diet. Excellent read and worth adding to your collection, especially for anyone who enjoyed MY LIFE IN HEAVY METAL.
Rating:
Summary: I want candy!
Review: Almond's voice and humor and love for all things sweet glisten in this book like jolly ranchers that have been sucked on for awhile. It's a truly enjoyable read -- a great blend of journalism, confessional, and commentary on candy in the USA. You don't have to be a die-hard candy lover to appreciate it. The blurb on the jacket says Almond is the "Dave Eggers of food writing" but I say he's much much better. There's no cloying, wise-ass irony here, just humor, passion, and lotsa lotsa candy.
Rating:
Summary: Unexpectedly Delicious
Review: As a huge fan of Steve Almond's short story collection, My Life In Heavy Metal, I was initially surprised and maybe a little disappointed to learn that he'd written a non-fiction book. Okay, I thought: Candy. It's an original idea. But what can he say about it that will make me care? Three pages in I was laughing out loud, forcing family and passers by to hear various excerpts, and recollecting my own 1960s candyfreakdom. Any negative reviews you've read here are from humorless types, or else from someone seeking some intensive academic study, which they won't find here. Truth is, you don't have to give an M&M about confectionary history to enjoy this book. Everyone can relate to at least some of it--it's hilarious, thoughtful, and, true to Almond's style, wonderfully written start to finish. Plus, it's a great small size...the literary version of a Chunky bar! I intend to buy a few more copies and share them with family and friends.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst book ever written
Review: Bad writing, boring stories, and not enough information on candy makes this book a poor choice for most people. As for the person who said reviewers should have read the book's jacket, it's kind of difficult to do that when you buy off Amazon. P.S. Here's a hot tip for the author: you can still eat lots of candy and not have bad teeth. There's some new technology on the scene that may help you in that respect, and it's called a "toothbrush." Look into it some time.
Rating:
Summary: Rich, textured and delicious
Review: Confessions of a candyholic. Steve Almond explores his lifelong love for and obsession with candy as he visits the regional candymakers who are struggling to survive amid the nearly obliterating presence of the big three (Nestle's, Mars, Hershey). Steve brings all of his talents to bear here -- as a reporter, social commentator, and crafter of meticulous sentences that simultaneously deliver humor and brilliant insights. As I read the book, I was sometimes reminded of Tony Horwitz books. Like Horwitz, Steve goes off in search of people who share his obsessions (the Civil War, Capt. Cook in Horwitz's case) and finds a host of interesting characters along the way. As an admirer of Steve's brilliant short-story collection, My Life in Heavy Metal, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Steve writes about food. He can break down the experience of eating a Charleston Chew, for example, into perfect sensory details without resorting to the pretentious writing of snobbish afficionadoes (a trend he laments with the clever line of "expertise curdling into hauteur"). While reading the book, I went off in search of the Five Star bars which he describes. Unfortunately, the Whole Foods (formerly Bread & Circus) didn't have the Hazelnut he describes in such detail in the book. Now, I'm off to the Web sites Steve offers at the end of the book to get a sample direct from the manufacturer, along with a few others. I can't wait to try to a Twin Bing or Valmomilk. (By the way, jump at any chance you can to have Steve come to your local bookstore for a reading. It's an experience not to be missed.)
Rating:
Summary: too many cavities
Review: ho hum. there are some wonderfully funny moments here, but mostly you end up feeling sorry for this guy, for his endless search to find, really--love!--in the form of something wrapped and packaged and sold for change. the endless diatribes don't quite jell. all in all left too many cavities in my mouth.
Rating: 
Summary: HOW SWEET IT WAS!
Review: How can you not like a guy who admits he has to have a piece of candy every day, keeps several pounds of the sugary stuff in his house at all times, and thinks about a sweet every hour? You can't. Many of us may think there but for the grace of God go I. Just as you'll have a fondness for author Almond (could there be a more appropriate name?)you'll also enjoy the reading by Oliver Wyman who by turns voices whimsy, amazement, and incredulity.
For a fellow who like candy as much as Mr. Almond the disappearance of some of his childhood favorites might be tantamount to an art collector losing a Van Gogh. Well, maybe not quite but close. He remembered his adored Choco-Lite, the irresistible Caravelle bar, and others. He wondered what could have happened to them, and so his quest began. He visited candy factories throughout the United States, plying candy makers with questions. Much of what he learned was not too sweet - competition, secret recipes, and pr maneuvering.
As I'm sitting here writing this review I'm sipping a delicious beverage that cannot stop drinking. Absolutely fabulous stuff! Made from roasted soya that you brew like coffee. My doctor said my cholesterol dropped 30 points thanks to this. Look for it online at www.s oycoffee.com. As for the book, it's pure pleasure reading.
Grab yourself a chocolate bar, give a listen, and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A hilarious look at candyland
Review: I bought this book on a whim, and let me say, what a wonderful surprise. What the blurbs on the cover don't emphasize is just how funny this book is. It's laugh-out-loud funny. No kidding. You will laugh. Out loud. From the first chapter, where Almond outlines his embarrassingly ridiculous addiction to candy, this book is a winner. His descriptions of being a lonely child with an overbearing sweet tooth are both sad and, somehow, thigh-slappingly funny. As the book progresses, it moves into more reportorial mode, with visits to candy factories and various odd characters on the fringes of candydom. The laughs never stop. I should admit that I am not a big fan of candy. I am, sadly, a salt person. But I found myself constantly nodding my head with delighted recognition at Almond's breezy descriptions. It was a joy to witness him, time after time, gingerly step around cliché (how many ways can you describe a chocolate bar, for crying out loud! I don't know how he does it!). The only thing I found slightly irksome was his constant use of the word "freak," which he uses in place of "obsession" or "addict." It seems to me a kind of cheesy way of pandering to the audience, as if we're now part of the club because we're hip to the lingo. Other than this single overused word, I have nothing but love for the book. Conclusion: this is an impeccably written, hilarious book--and not one just for foodies (though, if you know a candy lover, this would make an excellent gift). I found myself reading sections aloud to my fiancé, my mother, the guy pumping my gas. It's that funny. If you like writers like Nicholson Baker and David Sedaris, if you like to laugh when you read, if you've got an idiosyncratic way of eating M&Ms, you will love Steve Almond.
Rating:
Summary: I will definitely re-read Candyfreak.
Review: I laughed out loud while reading this book. There were also poignant and personal passages. Almond does a great job of showing the reader what it takes to compete in the world of selling candy, particularly in the shadows of the Big Three top candy sellers. His passion for satisfying his palate is beautiful.
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