short and sweet

[Brian D. McCary]

For a take on the earlier influences of sugar on world history, try
"Seeds of Change - Five Plants that Transformed Mankind" (Henry Hobhouse,
Harper & Row, 1987).  The role of sugar in the decimation of the 
West Indies and in the African Slave trade is astounding.  Hobhouse
himself is a bit priggish but well intentioned, and all five sections 
(Quinine, Potato, Sugar Cane, Cotton, and Tea) are fascinating.  The
quinine section is especially pertinant to the p-list, as he traces
the origins of the German Chemical Industries (in particular the 
dye industries) to the initial attempts to synthesize quinine.  It's history,
but it resonates in a way similar to TRP's fiction.