Fizz

September 9, 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.

September 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

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2013
Whether you call it soda or pop, it's the foundation of one of the modern world's most enduring industries, admired and reviled in almost equal measure from its very beginning. Donovan has researched the business's eighteenth-century beginnings, when scientists identified the chemical elements that enliven drinking water with tiny, tickly bubbles. Learning to generate, control, preserve, and transport effervescence took decades, but technological advances gradually gave rise to such iconic institutions as the soda fountain and the drive-in. The other major component in soft-drink manufacture is sugar, whose price and availability has driven much of the industry's profit margins. Atlanta's Coca-Cola seemed once to own a near-monopoly, but rivals captured public imagination with innovative advertising to challenge Coke's dominance. Soda's current status as putative villain in the world's nutrition crisis looks to continue the beverage's controversial history. A fascinating cultural and business chronicle of a product everyone takes for granted.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)