For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It (Paperback)

~ (Author) "THERE'S NO QUESTION that The Coca-Cola Company loves its own history..." (more)
Key Phrases: parent bottlers, actual bottlers, fountain salesmen, Asa Candler, Robert Woodruff, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From The Washington Post

"An encyclopedic history of Coke and its subculture. [Pendergrast] has used Coca-Cola as a metaphor for the growth of modern capitalism itself. His research and storytelling skills are prodigious."

Review

"Detailed and marvelously entertaining." -- Los Angeles Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 664 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; Enlarged 2nd edition (March 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465054684
• ISBN-13: 978-0465054688
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,287 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great history of Coke - but where are the photos?, July 31, 2000

By	KC "KC" (CA) - See all my reviews

Since my father was in the soft drink business for over 30 years -- he was a chemist for The Coca-Cola Company when I was born, and I believe we were the only kids on the block allowed to consume all the soda pop we desired, since we had cases of it in our garage -- I have always had an interest in the history of soda pop, and of The Coca-Cola Company in particular. I believe that even if the reader of this book was only marginally interested in Coke, he or she would be swept up in this well-researched and written book. Mark Pendergrast is a terrific writer -- this book reads like a compelling novel, and will be VERY difficult for the first-time reader to put down! I especially enjoyed the chapters on Coke's influence during WWII, as well as the "New Coke" debacle of the 1980's (the chapter is titled "The Worst Marketing Blunder of the Century"). Not to mention that the world-famous "secret formula" is revealed in this book as well! The only bone I have to pick with this edition is the lack of photos (which were in the first edition of this book). In a historical work like "For God, Country, and Coca-Cola" a photographic reference is absolutely necessary! Still a great read, though!P.S. I'm ordering a copy for my dad (who was a collegue of Coke president & CEO Roberto Goizueta in the 50's and 60's) - I know he'll get a kick out of it!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it, and the drink will no more mean the same to you!, September 12, 2000

By	Murtaza Shehabi (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

There is very little thought given to the role a "bottle of soda" plays in our lives. Reading the book, one can appreciate that brands like Coca-Cola, mean more than just a drink. How "brand-emotions" subconsciously carve a place inside you. The content is very well researched and has adequate information to grip the reader's attention to acquire more knowledge of, one of America's strongest and most successful brand names!

The events that followed its invention - simply lead you to believe that "Coke" was BORN to be great. The first real global company I ever knew!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very good historical work, with good perspective, October 23, 2003

By	J. Green (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

Basically, this is a book on the history of Coca-Cola, with some really good information on the cola industry as a whole. Well-researched, and well-written, I enjoyed this book. It was especially interesting to see the honesty in regard to the cocaine and caffiene content issues that Coke had to deal with, and later the "New Coke" fiasco. My only complaint would be with the length and that its a bit slow moving. The people involved certainly aren't very likeable, but the author does a good job of putting everything into a proper historical context. It even has the "secret formula" for the drink, which I found interesting just to know what I'm drinking.