Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World

by Tristan Donovan

Overview

The story of soda is the story of the modern world, a tale of glamorous bubbles, sparkling dreams, big bucks, miracle cures, and spreading waistlines. Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World charts soda’s remarkable, world-changing journey from awe-inspiring natural mystery to ubiquitous presence in all our lives. 

Along the way you’ll meet the patent medicine peddlers who spawned some of the world’s biggest brands with their all-healing concoctions, as well as the grandees of science and medicine mesmerized by the magic of bubbling water. You’ll discover how fizzy pop cashed in on Prohibition, helped presidents reach the White House, and became public health enemy number one. You’ll learn how Pepsi put the fizz in Apple’s marketing, how Coca-Cola joined the space race, and how soda’s sticky sweet allure defined and built nations. And you’ll find out how an alleged soda-loving snail rewrote the law books.

Fizz tells the extraordinary tale of how a seemingly simple everyday refreshment zinged and pinged over our taste buds and, in doing so, changed the world around us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613747223
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/01/2013
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	582,028
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Tristan Donovan is the author of Replay: The History of Video Games. His work has appeared in publications such as the Times, Stuff, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, and the Big Issue.

Table of Contents

Introduction: To the Stars 1

1 The Beverage of Kings 11

2 Meet Me at the Soda Fountain 21

3 The Medicine Men 39

4 A Snail in a Bottle 63

5 The Bar Is Dead, Soda Is King! 89

6 Was Ist Coca-Cola? 111

7 Cola-Colonization 131

8 Racists, Eco-Freaks, and Cancer Rats 159

9 A Better Mousetrap 181

10 Beverage Backlash 211

Acknowledgments 231

References 233

Bibliography 245

Index 271

Editorial Reviews

09/09/2013
In his fascinating history of carbonated drinks, Donovan (Replay: The History of Video Games) reveals that fizz is about a lot more than just bubbles. The soda of today started out as a far different beverage—Hippocrates looked to mineral waters as a cure-all for ailments, aging, and even as a way to bless marriages. But it was not until the first soda fountain in the early 1800s that an industry was born. Carbonated waters that had largely been enjoyed at spas by only the wealthiest could now be a daily pleasure for everyone. When Coca-Cola came on the scene in the late 19th century—with its first ad touting the confection as “Refreshing! Exhilarating!”—it was the start of the company’s attempt at global domination. Donovan details the brand’s ascension as it fought off the temperance movement, lawsuits, and competitors like Pepsi (which went through nearly three bankruptcies in its early years only to become a powerhouse in its own right thanks to the Pepsi Challenge and a famous Michael Jackson commercial) and anti-colas like 7 Up and Mountain Dew. Coke helped shape the modern corporate model with some of the earliest instances of franchises, became the exclusive beverage of the U.S. military during WWII, and ended up, along with Pepsi, in space aboard the Challenger. Soda has certainly taken hits recently with a growing obesity epidemic and city restrictions, but it seems destined to hit the sweet spot indefinitely. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Donovan succeeds in his attempt to create an extremely comprehensive work on the subject like none have before. Recommended for those who enjoy industry histories and a must-have for libraries." —Library Journal



"A fascinating cultural and business chronicle of a product everyone takes for granted." —Booklist


"Like the beverage, Fizz is addictive." —Shepherd Express


"In his fascinating history of carbonated drinks, Donovan (Replay: The History of Video Games) reveals that fizz is about a lot more than just bubbles." —Publishers Weekly


"Snappy and informative the whole way through." —Slog, from Seattle's The Stranger


"Donovan charts a refreshing albeit number-heavy history of fizzy drinks, from the first 'fixed air' waters to ever-sweeter iterations that have changed how the world quenches its thirst." —Discover Magazine


"In his new book, Fizz, journalist Tristan Donovan takes us on a fast-paced ride through the history of the soft-drink industry." —Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

09/15/2013
Covering topics from Coca Cola-drinking Santa Clauses to the Pepsi Generation, Donovan (Replay: The History of Video Games) offers a well-researched book on the history of soda. Supported by an exhaustive bibliography, this title details the "soda wars" between the major industry giants. The book opens with the story of the race into space as Pepsi and Coca-Cola vied to get their products on board the Space Shuttle in the 1980s. Traveling back in time, Donovan explores Joseph Priestley's 18th-century discovery of carbonated water and the colorful cast of characters clashing in the battle to open the first soda fountain. The battle for fast-food markets between the key players, major ad campaigns, and the ups and downs of big and small ventures in the United States and worldwide are all chronicled. VERDICT Donovan succeeds in his attempt to create an extremely comprehensive work on the subject like none have before. Recommended for those who enjoy industry histories and a must-have for libraries.—Graciela Monday, San Antonio

Library Journal