I'd be curious about what Pollan would think about the costs and benefits of Amazon's place in the ecosystem of books. Amazon dominates digital book sales, and no book can be successful without Amazon. We have found ourselves in a situation where Amazon is exerting an enormous and little-understood influence on our culture.Īudible is the only game in town for audiobooks. I'd also hope that a thinker such as Pollan, with an exquisitely developed ethical radar for food, might turn his critical gaze to the ethics of information. Maybe libraries will have Pollan's Caffeine available for readers. As colleges and universities, we lose something if the only people on our campuses who can access information are those who can pay for the privilege.Īgain, maybe I'm wrong. If I'm right, and Caffeine will not be coming any time soon to your local public or academic library, then what are we to make of this? Should we be concerned when a book (if we call Caffeine a book) is only available to those with the means of paying for it?Īs a society, we are all poorer when our libraries are inhibited from fulfilling their mission to broaden access and inclusion. My understanding (and I'd love to be wrong on this) is that the answer is a hard no.įrom what I understand, Audible does not play nicely with libraries - public or academic. I wish that I could definitely answer this question - and maybe you can help. Will Caffeine be available for borrowing at public or academic libraries?
#Caffeinated book for free#
I was able to read Caffeine for free as a benefit of the $229.50 that I send to Audible in exchange for credits for 24 books.įor non-Audible subscribers (and there are less expensive plans), Caffeine is available for a payment of $8.95. I'm greatly worried about the monopoly position that I see Amazon creating in digital books.Ī bigger worry about Caffeine is that the book - or whatever it is - is only available to Audible subscribers. I keep thinking that higher ed people should be playing a role in pushing for a diverse information ecosystem. But that does not mean that I don't want there to be print and ebook options as well. Yes, I want an audiobook option for my books. In my discussion of Michael Lewis's Audible-only The Coming Storm, I expressed my concerns about the lack of a print companion. What I want to wrestle with is that Caffeine is an Audible-only production and the fact that Amazon owns Audible. (And it is not clear if Caffeine is really a book.) Listening to Caffeine is as close as I'll ever get to a conversation with Michael Pollan, and I'm grateful to have spent a couple of hours in his presence.īut this is not a book review. If I were reviewing the Audible-only Caffeine, I'd also point out what a pleasure it is to hear Pollan read his own writing. Instead, Pollan serves up a nuanced biography of the drug we all love, enabling the reader (if fully caffeinated) to evaluate for themselves the ethical and health trade-offs of our addiction.
Those looking for simple answers to the question of the morality of the coffee trade, or the health of a coffee habit, will not find them in Caffeine. Caffeine will help you understand the history, politics, sociology and chemistry of your daily shot of the powerful drug that we call coffee. Pollan has few peers in nonfiction and long-form journalism in his ability to educate while entertaining.
#Caffeinated book full#
I'd tell you that Pollan's genius as the guru of all things food-related (coffee and tea are plants) is on full display in Caffeine. If I were to review the audio program, I'd sing all of its praises. 7, 2020.This is not a review of Michael Pollan's new Audible-only work How Caffeine Created the Modern World. Pure and highly concentrated caffeine.Benefits and risks of caffeine and caffeinated beverages.
This book compellingly argues that the health hazards of excessive caffeine intake need more attention and better regulation. In: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. Caffeinated is a surprising expos of the caffeine industrial complex, the industry that markets this substance in every form it can.
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