Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence

I purchased this book from the little special exhibit store at the Atlanta Fernbank Museum special exhibit on choloate. I believe that many of the photographs come directly from the exhibit. This is a sensual book with beautiful illustrations. It gives the history of chocolate and has details of manufacturers and particular brands. What particularly interested me was the discussion of the way that chocolate has gradually been discovered and planted around the world. The largest export was first Central America, now it is Africa.

Whether you are a chocolate lover like myself or not, you will enjoy this veritable opus on the history and business of this wonderful gift from the New World.The narrative is bracketed by these two first and last sentences of the book: "The lush, tropical rainforest is home to the cacao tree....It is possible that chocolate may be a critical ingredient in the fight to save the world's rainforests." Written as an accompaniment to a Chicago musuem exhibition on chocolate, this book is full of pictures and photos which complete a well-written text on the historical origins of this major global product, the chocolate business, and even the future of chocolate.This is a wonderful book for young and adult readers. It will grace any living room bookshelf. Don't be disappointed by its lack of recipes.