Customer Reviews

The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(57)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Overall, a well-written and insightful portrayl of how two very different approaches can build business empires. However, the author's account of Hershey leans toward the historical, and pales somewhat next to her dramatic ancedotal account of the Mars family. In the same token, the book provides a deeper understanding of how the Mars family thinks; the Hershey mindset is a little lacking (but which may be the point). Nevertheless, this book is great reference material for a case study as well as an exciting read.

After visiting Hershey, PA last fall and learning a little about the history of chocolate I was very interested in learning more about the industry. This book seemed to be the perfect place to start since I enjoy both Hershey and M&M/Mars chocolate. What an eye-opener! After reading the book I still felt like I had just caught a glimpse of how the chocolate empires are run but what a glimpse it was! To see two totally different approaches to product selling and corporate expansion and the results was fascinating. I now know why I can eat an entire one pound bag of M&Ms in a day (I feel so manipulated.)

After I put the book down, though, I was struck by the thought that even after building chocolate empires and amassing wealth and power, at the end of their lives both Hershey and Forrest Mars, Sr. had so very little. Hershey died a lonely man in a room he rarely left and Mars died an anonymous death in Florida leaving three very messed up children to run his business.

Great read! Highly recommended!

Anyone who likes candy will love this book. It is a fascinating look at the development of chocolate in the U.S. and the wars between the two giants in the business. Mr. Hershey comes across as a grandfatherly person who shows great concern for orphans. I had no idea until I read this book that he built a wonderful orphanage near his factory and provided the orphans with all that they needed and helped them achieve success in the world. Mr. Mars, on the other hand, comes across as a mean and uncaring person. Both men achieved great success in the chocolate business, but their lives ended in loneliness, showing that material success does not necessarily bring happiness. Included in the book are short discussions of other candy companies and their products. The author was able to penetrate a lot of the secrecy that surrounded Mr. Hershey, Mr. Mars, and their factories and business practices. Brenner is an ace reporter.

A grand view of the creation of two enterprises that are as different to each other as night and day, yet similar because of the product they have. A story of two tycoons that create a dynasty where the events change the character of each company drastically, but continue the brutal competition up to this day. A compassionate rendering of a fine story by a talented author. You also find out a bit about the makeup of chocolate.

Reading this book is addictive and sweet as chocolate itself. A truly amazing story of Mr. Hershey and Mr. Mars, as well as their companies' histories, and the inside story of the candy industry. Chocolate lovers and business people alike will be fascinated with this book. It's contagious too. As I was reading it I made comments out like "Really!, I didn't know that!" "Listen to this." My husband heard me and took a taste of the book and had to read it too. We both give it 5 stars. Don't know why it's not on the Best Seller list.

"How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103) When most folks think about Hersheys and Mars they no doubt think chocolates and sweets. Joel Glenn Brenner's book: "The Emperors of Chocolate : Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars" demonstrates that they are so much more than chocolate companies.

This is an extremely readable, entertaining book. The histories of these two companies are fascinating...from the utopian dream of Hershey's early days to the cloak and dagger intrigues during the Gulf War...this stuff is fascinating.

Brenner's look into how Mars functions as a veritable family run empire was particularly thought provoking to me. I found the reasoning behind the Mars company's dislike for Peanut Butter very humorous (basically-the brothers don't like Peanut Butter-so they don't like selling it).

The reality of these companies makes Dahl's legend: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" look dull in comparison. The layout of the book and the photos add wonderful atmosphere to the story.

I recommend this book.

The Emperors of Chocolate may seem like your usual book,yeah chocolate and about the company but it goes much deeper than that. Joel Brenner goes behind their closed doors and opens them just for us thru out this book.A closer look at Hershey and Mars reveals how American business was transformed in the twentieth century, a larger point that Brenner overlooks. While both companies became global giants, these fierce competitors tell us something fundamental about America. One (Hershey) began as a utopian vision and soon became a publicly traded behemoth that survived largely by luck and size, while the other (Mars) was designed to be the cornerstone of a free market empire but ended up a private, family-owned company (one of the largest in the world) that eschewed bureaucracy and pursued profit.

She also reveals the horrible working conditions of Hershey chocolate factories in the 1930s and ever changing uniform colors.At times, she is simply pasting her notes into the book's pages. Still, whenever she returns to the stories of Hershey and Mars, she is a captivating and perceptive writer of business and character.If you truley like reading and or chocolate you will like this book. I recomend this book to everyone.

Curiosity got the best of me. I read Jan Pottker's
book, Crisis in Candyland (1995), which is about
the Mars family. But, the Hershey chocolate company
was mentioned so often, that I decided to read
a comparative history, which is the essence of
J. G. Brenner's The Emperors of Chocolate.

Moreover, I think everyone should read at least two books on
any subject, as viewpoints and emphases will inevitably differ.

Brenner's book is very good in providing a basic history
of chocolate, from its use in Mesoamerica around
1,000 BCE to its modern forms.

The most salient lesson that I learned from
Brenner is how philosophically opposed business styles
and strategies can be successful if measured
only in terms of sales.

The Mars family is depicted as self-serving,
obsessed with secrecy,and mean-spirited.
Milton Hershey is portrayed as a benevolent,
philanthropic and more gregarious individual.

Yet, both Mars and Hershey became successful in sales.

The common denominator seems to be the product,
and good marketing (which Hershey was slow
to adopt).

By other measures, Hershey is more successful.
He left a more benign legacy and helped thousands
of people through his philanthropy.

After reading Pottker and Brenner, I would say
that I still love Mars products better (especially
the Milky Way bar), but I love Hershey, the person,
more, even though he also had his flaws.

Brenner's book seems much better documented than
that of Pottker. Pottker did not include footnotes,
but Brenner documents stories and conversations
with extensive endnotes that provide a general idea
of the sources.

Brenner does repeat at least one of the anecdotes found in Pottker. On p. 246, Brenner speaks about the time Forrest Mars ordered his son, John, to kneel and pray at a business meeting
in West Germany. The same story is found on p. 79 of Pottker's book. Pottker includes a direct quote, while Brenner adds that the prayer was "for the company." Neither tells us the exact source of the story.

There are only a few factual slips that I could discern. One
example is on p. 92,where Brenner tells us that "By the time of Christ, cacao tree cultivation had reached the Aztec civilization in Mexico..." However, "the Aztec civilization" did come come to exist until probably after 1200 CE, and was at its height when the Spaniards conquered it around 1520.

But any minor complaints aside, Brenner's book is a must-read
for anyone interested in two of the top chocolate manufacturers
in history.

From someone who is not the most avid reader, I found this exremely entertaining, I could hardly put it down! Roal Dahl's children's story is not far from the truth! The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars depicts the ongoing battle between the confectionery giants Nershey and Mars. Hershey proved to be an easy target for a cutthroat competitor such as Forrest Mars. Mars was able to catch, and eventually pass Hershey using superior efficiency, marketing, and product quality. The book explains how Mars, Inc. went from a fragile new venture to rival Hershy, the nations's leading confectionery manufacturer.
The book covers the histories of the Mars and Hershey companies. In the early 1900s Mars and Hershey were both struggling confectioners trying to create a chocolate that would come to be loved by the American people. Milton Hershey poured his millions into accomplishing his goal of creating a utopian dream community based on his chocolate business. An orphanage was its largest shareholder. Everything Hershey earned was poured back into Hershy, Pennsylvania. conversely, the goal of the Mars empire was to conquer and dominate the chocolate industry, so the M&M's would be sold throughout the world. Forrest Mars never even let his children eat M&M's because he claimed that the "brightly colored candies just couldn't be spared. He needed every last one." The never-ending battle for the number one candy producer in the United States was takedn to new levels throughout the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.
After the death of Milton Hershey in 1945, the company began to deteriorate. By 1968, Larry Johns, who left Mars as head of sales, sat dumbfounded listening to a Hershey district sales manager explain the job of selling Hershey bars. Johns ranted that, "They had no idea what they were doing...They didn't know a thing about market share, they didn't know about their competition, they didn't have a clue what it meant to actually be a salesman...Hershey looked like a museum, a primitive operation about to run smack into the twentieth century." Hershey did not have an advertising or sales department, and knew little about what it sold, measuring success by the number, not the size, of orders. They did not know what bar was number one in a certain area, or where a Mars product had outsold Hershey's. This fundamental informations is usually the driving force behind competition.
Mars, on the other hand, was always ahead of everyone in terms of equipment, efficiency, marketing, and product quality. Most of Hershey's manufacturing departments remained largely unchanged until the 1960s. Mars had solved engineering problems that no one else had even considered tackling. Forrest believed, "...that the only way to achieve success was to offer the consumer the best product on the market. Cost could never justify sacrificing quality." Forrest's obsession explains why Mars has always been an extremely popular employer: Mars believes that they should have the best, and therefore pay the best, a practice that the company still enforces. The way Forrest Mars runs his company in such a meticulous fashion explains why the Mars company is such a success. After much hard work, in 1973 the Mars Candy Co. had the Hershey Company on the run, and surpassed Hershey in market share. By 1991, however, Hershey had regained the lead from the aggressive Mars company.

I seldom comment on books here, because one never knows who the reviewer is and what their relationship may be to the author. But trust me, I have no agenda and no association with the author or publisher, so I can say objectively that this is a utterly fascinating, engaging, and terrific book - an even more special treat because I'd never heard of it, and just picked it up because I thought it might be interesting to learn something about an industry I knew nothing about (exc. for their products), and now I can't put it down! Highly recommended, and you'll enjoy "researching" its conclusions about chocolocate products as you read.