The Devil's Cup: Coffee, the Driving Force in History - Hardcover

Stewart Lee Allen

3.63

1,896 ratings by Goodreads

9781841950440: The Devil's Cup: Coffee, the Driving Force in History

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1841950440 ISBN 13: 9781841950440

Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd, 2000

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This comprehensive work provides an account of caffeine's impact on humankind. Beginning in Ethiopia, the author sails along the same route that carried the first beans to Yemen 1500 years ago, and literally travels the world in his mission to prove that coffee is the driving force in history.

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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 Back Cover:

'Two parts travelogue and history to one part caffeine-fuelled theory ... From the genteel cafes of Vienna to wired, late night email conversations on the internet, the book celebrates coffee's ability to sharpen the mind and give society a jolt. Not just mocha do about nothing.' The Face

Coffeepot give us peace / coffeepot let children grow / let our wealth swell / please protect us from evils / give us rain and grass Ethiopian Prayer

Magic cup / carry me above the traffic jam. Keep me civil in the subway / And forgive my employer, as you forgive me. Amen A Western Prayer

Stewart Lee Allen makes the very convincing argument that civilisation is largely based on coffee drinking (or chewing). Until the art of coffee guzzling arrived in the great cities, the only way to quench a thirst was to drink ale, which is hardly the best method for keeping rational, and beery philosophy is rarely watertight in the sober light of day, whereas caffeinated, over analytical thought, makes serious progress.

Allen traces the development of world wide coffee consumption by travelling to all the places of historical significance, for this particular subject. Starting in Ethiopia, continuing through Northern Africa, over to Asia, becoming involved in art smuggling and illegal passport wrangling, and off to Europe. There he covers revolutions and enlightenment. And then finally to America, in search for the most soulful coffee he can find.

Repeatedly likened to a caffeing fuelled Gonzo, this story is both incredibly funny as well as thoroughly educational.

Stewart Lee Allen was born in California, and has lived in Kathmandu, Sydney, Brooklyn and Calcutta. A widely published journalist he is also the author of an acclaimed collection of stories, The Art of Rape.

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