Synopses & Reviews
The inside story of the 150-year rivalry among Cadbury, Hershey, Nestlé, and Mars is a fascinating and luscious tale. Deborah Cadbury, great-great-great- granddaughter of 19th-century chocolate maker John Cadbury, tells it eloquently in Chocolate Wars, drawing the reader into her epic of family and industry with clear love for her subject.”
Philadelphia Inquirer This is a delicious book, seductive as a tray of bonbons, a Fancy Box in every way.”Washington Post
[Chocolate Wars] pits idealism against capitalism, religious piety against the forces of greed and cutthroat competition. Though, like great fiction, it defies belief, its the true story of our favorite guilty pleasure. Cadburys book, like her namesakes famous sampler, is full of surprises and delights.” Christian Science Monitor
The reader of Chocolate Wars feels they are getting an insiders view.”Financial Times
Fascinating
Read this excellent book.” Los Angeles Times
Review
Booklist, October 1, 2010
andldquo;This tale of capitalist rivalry mixed with Quaker values makes for a very sweet journey.andrdquo;
Washington Post
andldquo;This is a delicious book, seductive as a tray of bonbons, a Fancy Box in every way.andrdquo;
The New Yorker Book Bench
andldquo;For chocolate lovers and Roald Dahl fans, some heartening news: Willy Wonkaandrsquo;s factory andndash; or at least something that sounds very much like it andndash; was a real place... Though Cadbury begins with teasingly enviable childhood recollections... the story she tells is really about Quakers, and one familyandrsquo;s continuous struggle to reconcile religious values andndash; pacifism, austerity, sobriety andndash; with the indulgent nature of their product and the ruthlessly competitive capitalism of the world in which they made their fortune... Itandrsquo;s hard not to root for these guys and the story is all the more bittersweet because we know how it ends.andrdquo;
The Daily Telegraph
andldquo;Engaging and scholarly, confident and compassionate, Chocolate Wars is less a family biography than an impressively thought provoking parable for our times... A vibrant history.andrdquo;and#160;
Business Times
andldquo;Fascinating...Chocolate Wars presents narrative history at its most absorbing, peopled by colourful characters: the true story of the chocolate pioneers, the visions and ideals that inspired them and the mouth-watering concoctions they created... Deborah gives readers an insider look, fleshing out the stories around her family with her familiar competence as a bestselling historian and award winning documentary maker.andrdquo;
Kirkus
and#160;andldquo;A fine pocket history of corporate confectionery... Cadbury has a knack for capturing the driven personalities who launched these [chocolate] empires.andrdquo;and#160;
Library Journal
andldquo;Although written by proud Cadbury kin, the narrative is balanced and fair. This is a well written and well researched look at chocolate and the Quaker business tradition that any food or history buff will enjoy.andrdquo;
Sunday Times
andldquo;Chocolate Wars andndash; clear, readable and richly detailed andndash; is at least as much about Quakers as it is about chocolate... enjoyable.andrdquo;
Financial Times, November 15, 2010
andldquo;Deborah Cadburyandrsquo;s branch of the Cadbury family wasnandrsquo;t involved in the chocolate business but she garnered a deep impression from a childhood visit to her cousinsandrsquo; company and the reader ofand#160;Chocolate Warsand#160;feels they are getting an insiderandrsquo;s view. Her own background as a historian and TV documentary maker means that this book communicates in an episodic and visual style, making what risks being a dull subject gripping as it flips back and forth around the world documenting parallel events in the emergence of the chocolate industry.andrdquo;Examiner.com, November 14, 2010
andldquo;The 150-year rivalry among the worldandrsquo;s greatest chocolate making families, is told by a descendant of one of the families.and#160;Just think what sweetness came out of these families' rivalries, depicted deliciously in this new book.andrdquo;and#160;Boston Globe, November 14, 2010
andldquo;Deborah Cadbury begins with a brief description of Quaker aims and humane business practices before moving on through the history of the family business. This takes in the truly exciting race to put Cadburyandrsquo;s chocolate candy in every mouth, to the exclusion of that made by rival English Quaker firms, Rowntree and Fry, to say nothing of the Swiss Lindt and Nestlandeacute;. Her many faceted account takes in technology, distribution, and industrial espionage, advertising and packaging, labor relations and model housing for workers, the role of the firm and its owners in wartime and international expansion.andrdquo;and#160;Gulfnews.com, November 26, 2010
andldquo;Engaging and scholarly, Chocolate Wars is less a family biography than an impressively thought-provoking parable for our times.andrdquo;and#160;Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2010
andldquo;Fascinatingandhellip;Read this excellent book.andrdquo;and#160;Philadelphia Inquirer, November 28, 2010
andldquo;The inside story of the 150-year rivalry among Cadbury, Hershey, Nestlandeacute;, and Mars is a fascinating and luscious tale. Deborah Cadbury, great-great-great-granddaughter of 19th-century chocolate maker John Cadbury, tells it eloquently inand#160;Chocolate Wars, drawing the reader into her epic of family and industry with clear love for her subject.andrdquo;
Christian Science Monitor, December 1, 2010
andldquo;[Chocolate Wars] pits idealism against capitalism, religious piety against the forces of greed and cutthroat competition. Though, like great fiction, it defies belief, itandrsquo;s the true story of our favorite guilty pleasure. Cadburyandrsquo;s book, like her namesakeandrsquo;s famous sampler, is full of surprises and delights.andrdquo;
Bnreview.com, December 2010
andldquo;This engaging history of the 150-year rivalry among the world's greatest chocolate makersandmdash;the English firms Fry, Rowntree, and Cadbury (to which the author, Deborah Cadbury, is an heiress), their European competitors Lindt and Nestlandeacute;, and the American upstarts Hershey and Marsandmdash;is delightful, especially for its fascinating portrait of the 19th-century success of Quaker capitalism, built quite remuneratively on the ideal that wealth creation entails responsibilities beyond personal gain.andrdquo;
KREL (Florida talk radio) andldquo;The Happy Cookandrdquo; andldquo;An eye-opening, illuminating book that features a cast of brilliant entrepreneursandhellip;the story gripped me from start to finish.andrdquo;
Synopsis
The delicious history of rival chocolate companies and their fascinating dynastiesand#151;the Lindts, Frys, Hersheys, Mars, and Nestland#233;sand#151; told by a descendant of the Cadbury family
Synopsis
In the early nineteenth century the major English chocolate firmsand#151;Fry, Rowntree, and Cadburyand#151;were all Quaker family enterprises that aimed to do well by doing good. The English chocolatiers introduced the worldand#8217;s first chocolate bar and ever fancier chocolate temptationsand#151;while also writing groundbreaking papers on poverty, publishing authoritative studies of the Bible, and campaigning against human rights abuses. Chocolate was always a global business, and in the global competitors, especially the Swiss and the Americans Hershey and Mars, the Quaker capitalists met their match. The ensuing chocolate wars would culminate in a multi-billion-dollar showdown pitting Quaker tradition against the cutthroat tactics of a corporate behemoth.
Featuring a cast of savvy entrepreneurs, brilliant eccentrics, and resourceful visionaries, Chocolate Wars is a delicious history of the fierce, 150-year business rivalry for one of the worldand#8217;s most coveted markets.
About the Author
Deborah Cadbury is a writer, award-winning documentary producer for the BBC, the author of seven books, and a relative of the famous Quaker family that gave their name to one of the worldand#8217;s most famous brands of chocolate.