In The World of Sugar, Ulbe Bosma provides a sweeping and detailed overview of the global history of sugar. Beginning with the origins of granulated sugar in India 2,500 years ago, the book covers its spread throughout Asia, Europe, the Americas, and, in the twentieth century, Africa. Bosma's focus is on refined sucrose, the commodity today we usually refer to as sugar. For most of world history this product has been derived from sugarcane, though beginning in the eighteenth century it has also been derived from beet. At the end of this book, Bosma briefly addresses the emergence of high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and stevia.
In some ways, The World of Sugar is an expanded and updated version of Sidney Mintz's classic Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History (1986). This is not altogether surprising, given that The World of Sugar originated in a workshop...
