Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
The Coca-Cola Company's secretive top executive, Robert Woodruff, threw his support behind presidential candidate Lyndon Johnson, then spurned the loser, Richard Nixon, when he applied for a job at Coca-Cola. Nixon later became senior partner in Pepsi-Cola's outside law firm, while President LBJ, a close ally of Coca-Cola, arranged political favors for the company. These are among the charges presented in this highly entertaining history of a firm that traces its origins to Confederate war hero John Pemberton and his Yankee business partner Frank Robinson, who developed the soft drink in the late 1880s. The book provides a juicy look at wheeling-dealing, litigation, global hustling, cola wars and the marketing savvy that carved a niche for Coke in the American social psyche. CNN commentator Allen charts Coke's fortunes through two world wars, European anti-American backlash and the civil rights era, and tells how Woodruff, though a plantation-owning Georgian, supported desegregation in Atlanta with an eye toward selling Coke to people of color around the world. Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)
Library Journal
In this company history, Allen, a political columnist and commentator for CNN, emphasizes corporate internal politics and Coca-Cola's role in the inner councils of Atlanta. Allen traces the history of the drink from its origins as a drugstore formula to its present multinational success and chronicles Coke's unceasing efforts to preserve its trademark and "secret formula." In researching his work, the author consulted numerous primary sources, including the papers of Asa Candler and Robert Woodruff, both heads of Coca-Cola. Access to one of Woodruff's longtime aides surely provided many of the intimate details studding the text. At times the book reads like a Russian novel combined with a thriller. It will appeal to the general reader as well as to students of history and complements other recent titles on Coca-Cola, including Roger Enrico's The Other Guy Blinked (LJ 3/15/87) and Mark Pendergrast's For God, Country, and Coca-Cola (LJ 3/15/93).-Mary Chatfield, Angelo State Univ., San Angelo, Tex.
From the Publisher
"A clear, convincing, anecdotal, often fascinating portrayal not just of Coca-Cola’s corporate brilliance, but of how it inveighed its way into the center of American, and world, consciousness.” —Financial Times “[A] highly entertaining history . . . A juicy look at wheeling-dealing, litigation, global hustling, cola wars and the marketing savvy that carved a niche for Coke in the American social psyche.” —Publishers Weekly “At times the book reads like a Russian novel combined with a thriller. It will appeal to the general reader as well as to students of history.” —Library Journal “Allen seems to have had unprecedented access to company insiders, corporate archives, and private papers, and he uncovers a trove of information about corporate political clout at home and abroad. . . . Allen successfully contributes to the fascinating lore surrounding this symbol of American culture and enterprise.” —Booklist
