Product Description

In this captivating book, Stewart Lee Allen treks three-quarters of the way around the world on a caffeinated quest to answer these profound questions: Did the advent of coffee give birth to an enlightened western civilization? Is coffee, indeed, the substance that drives history? From the cliffhanging villages of Southern Yemen, where coffee beans were first cultivated eight hundred years ago, to a cavernous coffeehouse in Calcutta, the drinking spot for two of India’s three Nobel Prize winners . . . from Parisian salons and cafés where the French Revolution was born, to the roadside diners and chain restaurants of the good ol’ U.S.A., where something resembling brown water passes for coffee, Allen wittily proves that the world was wired long before the Internet. And those who deny the power of coffee (namely tea-drinkers) do so at their own peril.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56257 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-04
• Released on: 2003-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780345441492
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Stewart Lee Allen is the Hunter S. Thompson of coffee, offering a wild, caffeinated, gonzo tour of the World of the Magic Bean. His wry, adventurous prose delights, astonishes, amuses, and informs."
--MARK PENDERGRAST
   Author of Uncommon Grounds:
   The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World -- Review

Review
"Stewart Lee Allen is the Hunter S. Thompson of coffee, offering a wild, caffeinated, gonzo tour of the World of the Magic Bean. His wry, adventurous prose delights, astonishes, amuses, and informs."
--MARK PENDERGRAST
   Author of Uncommon Grounds:
   The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World

From the Inside Flap
In this captivating book, Stewart Lee Allen treks three-quarters of the way around the world on a caffeinated quest to answer these profound questions: Did the advent of coffee give birth to an enlightened western civilization? Is coffee, indeed, the substance that drives history? From the cliffhanging villages of Southern Yemen, where coffee beans were first cultivated eight hundred years ago, to a cavernous coffeehouse in Calcutta, the drinking spot for two of India's three Nobel Prize winners . . . from Parisian salons and cafés where the French Revolution was born, to the roadside diners and chain restaurants of the good ol' U.S.A., where something resembling brown water passes for coffee, Allen wittily proves that the world was wired long before the Internet. And those who deny the power of coffee (namely tea-drinkers) do so at their own peril.

Customer Reviews

part history of coffee, part crazy travelogue
In The Devil's Cup, Stewart Lee Allen decides to travel the world in search of the history of coffee. He travels on a budget that leads to many interesting scenarios, such as crossing the Atlantic on a cargo ship with a handful of other passengers, that have little to nothing to do with coffee. Much of his info on the history of coffee in Europe is a recitation (although amusingly told) of more staid histories of coffee. He spends most of his travels looking for either the best or worst cup of coffee. After I finished the book, I felt like I had read several good anecdotal stories and legends about the origins and history of coffee, and had also read a rather crazy, but interesting, travelogue that loosely related to the spread of coffee from Africa to the rest of the world. It was a fun read and worth reading, but I am still looking for a more focused and complete history of coffee.

A Coffee-tastic Tale
The Devil's Cup is a very enjoyable book...

It's not just a history book. It's not just a travelog. It's not just an essay on the politics of the import and export of a consumer good. It's more than that, it's an adventure that follows the trail of that most wonderful beverage, coffee. Where did coffee originate from? How did it make it's way from country to country, from continent to continent? Who was responsible for the many moves that coffee has made? For the different ways that coffee is enjoyed? How do different cultures view this magnificent bean? What role did coffee play in the creation of civilization? Of the shaping of our globe as it is today? These are the sorts of answers you'll find within this book, but not presented to you in a bland history bookish sort of way... No, no, the answers lie within tales of travel and first hand accounts of experiences with the actual places involved...

And all of this comes with a ribald sense of humor, a fantastic sense of adventure and stories that will have you running off to grab a cup of Joe to enjoy this book with.

A Half Full Demi-Tasse
I received this book as a gift and was hoping for a more informative book about coffee, its history, and its intricacies. Instead, I found a collection of miscellaneous chapters that were, at best, loosely connected. The anecdotes provoked laughter, but I don't think I would call it hilarious. "The Devil's Cup" is a light read and worthwhile so long as you don't open the book hoping for an academic read.