Buy new:
$15.04
FREE delivery: Tuesday, April 23 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
List Price: $20.00 Details

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Save: $4.96 (25%)
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Tuesday, April 23 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Friday, April 19. Order within 7 hrs 48 mins
In Stock
$$15.04 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$15.04
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Tuesday, April 23 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Friday, April 19. Order within 7 hrs 48 mins
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: This item shows wear including a small tear in the cover and moderate wear to edges and cover.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Other Sellers on Amazon
Added
$14.58
FREE Shipping
Get free shipping
Free shipping within the U.S. when you order $35.00 of eligible items shipped by Amazon.
Or get faster shipping on this item starting at $5.99 . (Prices may vary for AK and HI.)
Learn more about free shipping
on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Sold by: bookmasters444
Sold by: bookmasters444
(484 ratings)
100% positive over last 12 months
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Shipping rates and Return policy
Added
$15.00
& FREE Shipping
Sold by: Lion Supply Central
Sold by: Lion Supply Central
(34 ratings)
92% positive over last 12 months
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Shipping rates and Return policy
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History Paperback – August 5, 1986

4.4 out of 5 stars 335

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$15.04","priceAmount":15.04,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"15","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"04","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"IgH5dPgW%2F4pz9GtYWOTwpQJ5brwx9mh%2F4YqJUQS9jBsl7aFm%2B39P%2F0I4msqrTu2SpMqoNCLGwNBpKCfld4xN8HRZGEyM7hyvhC5ubQyiz3YqPpbmAimeB5wjjEVouFd8v3wr%2B8%2FG7uI%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$10.96","priceAmount":10.96,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"96","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"IgH5dPgW%2F4pz9GtYWOTwpQJ5brwx9mh%2F0vQMtl%2F9%2Bq92oWBAnl9FvnKKYmjh%2FsJ612BDfDIT5BVpCA8htJ%2FDTMy6mCxp%2BQp%2BYFKMIVaLovWiiTg0T40ZrOgMiOSyGjcKlRa0MF6uCnIpH8l6%2B4e5vTr%2FEEVeKkH4hksxBEN%2FZQ%2BcsX%2BiBY3W02xvUCvfOqn9","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

A fascinating persuasive history of how sugar has shaped the world, from European colonies to our modern diets

In this eye-opening study, Sidney Mintz shows how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare foreign luxury to a commonplace necessity of modern life, and how it changed the history of capitalism and industry. He discusses the production and consumption of sugar, and reveals how closely interwoven are sugar's origins as a "slave" crop grown in Europe's tropical colonies with is use first as an extravagant luxury for the aristocracy, then as a staple of the diet of the new industrial proletariat. Finally, he considers how sugar has altered work patterns, eating habits, and our diet in modern times.

"Like sugar, Mintz is persuasive, and his detailed history is a real treat." -
San Francisco Chronicle

The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

$15.04
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 23
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
$22.95
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 23
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Shows how the intelligent analysis of the history of a single commodity can be used to pry open the history of an entire world of social relationships and human behavior." -The New York Review of Books

"Like sugar, Mintz is persuasive, and his detailed history is a real treat." -
San Francisco Chronicle

"A fine book. It not only tells a fascinating story, it is also something of an antidote to the static quality of much anthropological writing." -Jack Goody,
The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Sidney W. Mintz was a professor at the Johns Hopkins University, where he taught anthropology. His academic specialization focused on the anthropology of food, with a particular focus on the consumption and commodification of sugar. His works include Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom: Excursions into Eating, Culture, and the Past; The World of Soy; and Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. He died in 2015.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (August 5, 1986)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 274 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140092331
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140092332
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.76 x 5.08 x 0.76 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 335

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Sidney Wilfred Mintz
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Sidney W. Mintz is professor emeritus, department of anthropology at Johns Hopkins University. He founded the department there in 1975. He has done extensive field research in Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Haiti, as well as in Iran. He launched a research program in Hong Kong to study the consumption and production of soybean and examine soy products in the United States.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
335 global ratings
Bought new, damaged on arrival
3 Stars
Bought new, damaged on arrival
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2015
This anthropology of sugar shows how the cultivation of this crop and the use of the end product affected people in two parts of the world: the Caribbean islands and the British Isles. The book gives a short history of sugar and its origins in New Guinea and subsequently the Philippines and India, how it spread west with the Arabs and eventually found its way to Europe. It goes on to tell of sugar's role in European Imperialism, and how the production of this "drug food" led to the use of slavery in pre-industrial plantation agriculture; and conversely, how its eventual use by the common people of England helped to adapt them to the industrial economy, where one had to eat quickly of prepared foods during an assigned break in their work schedule.

My greatest insight from this book derives from the above understanding that the increasing use of sugar in the diets of "modernized" people reflects upon its ability to provide calories (thus energy) at a cheap price, in a product with "shelf-life" that allows people to focus on their work (for their employers) for eight or more hours per day.

I might add that this book was a great "warm-up" read before I began the two volume set: The Invention of the White Race, by Theodore Allen.
22 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2021
A very well written survey of all aspects of sugar and how it affected the politics and economy of key countries by a most thoughtful writer with an abundance of whys and wherefores page by page, a historian of penetrating thoughtfuness and perception.

A great historical and political survey of its hidden importance and huge influence in different societies
6 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2019
As someone who is fairly horrified by the effects of sugar addiction upon people I love, I was very interested in reading this book. Mintz does a terrific job of laying out the history of sugar production and consumption. Sugar, like many other “new” substances that came into European consciousness during the Renaissance (i.e., tobacco, rum, tea, coffee, etc.) was addictive. Originally marketed as a luxury for only the wealthiest, it ultimately became a staple of even the very poorest. How did that happen? This book attempts to inform us. Professor Mintz starts out in a lively mode that is fascinating, but about halfway through the book he reveals his desire to shoehorn the history of sugar consumption into Marxist ideology. Some of it works; some of it doesn’t. I was bored throughout the last third of the book. This was primarily because it was so repetitive. I’m glad I read the book. The research involved is awe-inspiring, and I’m giving it four stars on that basis, but I really didn’t buy Mintz’s overall argument. Even so, I would recommend the book.
13 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2021
This is a wonderful book, one of my favorite history books. Full of fascinating insights into medieval, colonial and industrial history.
One person found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2019
i love books and i try to take good care of mine. this book was protected by placing two pieces of cardboard, one on either side, around it. i really appreciate this, and i intend to purchase more books from this business. everything was as described.

thank you
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2014
This was a very detailed and interesting read regarding the economics of sugar in England. The author certainly knows his stuff and goes into vast details of the economic history of sugar in England. However, the author seems to jump all over different eras quite often which disrupts the flow of the book. Different facts and tidbits ranging from the 15th to 19th centuries are stuck here and there rather than thoroughly focusing on or explaining certain themes or interpretations. Overall I thought it was interesting and very detailed, but highly unorganized. This is not a book for the novice and can even be a drag for those with a good amount of knowledge on the subject.
3 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2012
Engagingly written, SWEETNESS AND POWER traces the history of sugar from the old world right to where we are, in the glutonous new world of today. Sugar consumption as been increasing ever since its introduction and there's no looking back. From the exotic tastings of kings, to its medicinial uses, to its association with the current obesity plague, Sidney Mintz has created a very worthwhile and readable narrative. Highly recommended... - lc
7 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2014
Mintz's 'Sweetness and Power' is a classic. He makes a compelling argument on the role of sugar and the sugar industry in the development of modern capitalism. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the historical development of capitalism, its structures, and capitalist labor; Caribbean colonial history; or the sugar industry. I just purchased a second copy to replace my first which is too worn and marked to continue reading.
6 people found this helpful
Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Francois SAVARD
5.0 out of 5 stars very interesting
Reviewed in Canada on November 23, 2017
very interesting, but could be a bit long if the reader is not that much interested in the subject. The first 75% of the book is very interesting. The last part is a bit of more of the same, but interesting nonetheless.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars You need to have this book!
Reviewed in India on August 21, 2019
Will write a review once I finish the book. It is a shelf- enriching book (Tsundoko).
Arrakis
3.0 out of 5 stars La singularité et l'impact historique du sucre
Reviewed in France on November 16, 2017
Cette monographie historique sur le sucre est intéressante et remet bien en perspective la place singulière que ce produit à occuper dans l'alimentation et l'histoire politique et sociale de l'occident et des conséquences que son mode de production provoqua en Amérique et en Afrique. Cependant je trouve que la rédaction et l'organisation du livre est trop monolithique. Chacun des cinq chapitres est un tout sans sous parties sans plan facilement compréhensible ce qui gêne en définitive la lecture et l'intelligibilité globale du livre. Instructif mais sans plus.
One person found this helpful
Report
Alexander the Corrector
5.0 out of 5 stars classic analysis of sugar's role in modernity
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 7, 2014
With an exhilarating narrative sweep, 'Sweetness and Power' situates sugar at the emergence of modern consumer society - showing how its production institutionalised slavery and set the template for the industrial age, while its trade broke the links between calories and local food production and ushered in the modern era of global consumerism.

The scope of Mintz's research is remarkable, but it's his insights into how an everyday commodity can reveal the deep workings of history that makes this book such a classic.
3 people found this helpful
Report
Silvia Bruzzone
5.0 out of 5 stars prodotto eccellente
Reviewed in Italy on December 13, 2013
Il libro è in perfette condizioni ed il contenuto è molto interessante, scritto bene e comprensibile. La spedizione è stata davvero rapida.