Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
56th out of 470 books
—
986 voters
The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars
Corporate candy giants Milton Hershey and Forrest Mars built business empires out of one of the world's most magical, sought-after substances: chocolate. In The Emperors of Chocolate, Joël Glenn Brenner--the first person to ever gain access to the highly secretive companies of Hershey and Mars--spins a unique story that takes us inside a world as mysterious as Willy Wonka'...more
Paperback, 324 pages
Published
January 4th 2000
by Crown Business
(first published December 22nd 1998)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,624)
The intrigue behind the innocent wrapper of a Hershey's chocolate bar is surprising. This book describes the story of the long-standing Hershey and Mars competition, along with all of the attendant commercial spying. You'll definitely need a chocolate fix after reading this book.
2 likes · like · see review
view 2 comments
The Chocolate Tale – It’s Gripping!
Spoiler Alert: There is none! Read this review, and you’ll still be able to enjoy the book.
I started reading this incredible book by the magnificent Joel Glenn Brenner last year. I had to put it aside to do my annual Christmas book marathon (my annual adventure in reading all Christmas-related books I can get my hands on from Thanksgiving until New Years or later). My colleagues were so very glad I set it aside because each day I would report at work each and...more
Spoiler Alert: There is none! Read this review, and you’ll still be able to enjoy the book.
I started reading this incredible book by the magnificent Joel Glenn Brenner last year. I had to put it aside to do my annual Christmas book marathon (my annual adventure in reading all Christmas-related books I can get my hands on from Thanksgiving until New Years or later). My colleagues were so very glad I set it aside because each day I would report at work each and...more
I found this book fascinating but for me, I think the most interesting parts were the history of chocolate in America prior to World War II, the differences in chocolate preferences by country and the amazing facts about the Mars & Hershey competitiveness, product research, development and manufacturing. LOL, well that pretty well covers the entire book!
I have learned so much - I couldn't contain myself and have been spouting out factoids to hubby-dog who listens with an interesting but so...more
I have learned so much - I couldn't contain myself and have been spouting out factoids to hubby-dog who listens with an interesting but so...more
This book immeidately caught my eye cuz there was just sooooooo much chocolate on the cover.....i was going to eat this book so i just took it and first licked it then ate each page inside slowly one by one...just kiddingg lol.
this book talks about the history of chocolate mainly american chocoalte that includes mars and hershey brands. did u know that they actually are like top competitors and thats totalyl crazy because u dont really notice it now. but in the book, its like what everyone is g...more
this book talks about the history of chocolate mainly american chocoalte that includes mars and hershey brands. did u know that they actually are like top competitors and thats totalyl crazy because u dont really notice it now. but in the book, its like what everyone is g...more
1 like · like · see review
This was a fantastic book about chocolate in general and about the linked histories of Hershey and Mars -- two of the largest (and at one time) privately held chocolate companies in the world.
About one-third of the book introduces you to the history of chocolate and how the world came to know it. The the rest of the book uses the competition and history of Mars and Hershey to introduce the reader to the various varieties, what is takes (in general) to make it, and the various likes and dislikes...more
About one-third of the book introduces you to the history of chocolate and how the world came to know it. The the rest of the book uses the competition and history of Mars and Hershey to introduce the reader to the various varieties, what is takes (in general) to make it, and the various likes and dislikes...more
Crazy candy makers – Roald Dahl created the quintessential sweet-toothed loon in Willy Wonka of Charley and the Chocolate Factory. Wonka seems supremely batty, but Dahl wasn’t too far from the truth. Candy-making is nutty, in more ways than one!
In The Emperors of Chocolate, biographer Joël Glenn Brenner takes on the history of American’s two largest chocolate making families, the Hersheys and the Marses. These are names we grew up with, stuffing Hershey Kisses or the famous Mars Snickers Bars in...more
In The Emperors of Chocolate, biographer Joël Glenn Brenner takes on the history of American’s two largest chocolate making families, the Hersheys and the Marses. These are names we grew up with, stuffing Hershey Kisses or the famous Mars Snickers Bars in...more
The story of two huge candy companies and the people who founded them. It talks about the chocolate market, the process by which chocolate gets from the bean growing on the tree to the candy bar in the store. It talks about the history of chocolate and how it came to be so popular.Hershey's was founded by Milton Hershey who developed the town of Hershey and Hershey School for Boys. Hershey's is the largest candy company in America, but its chocolate is totally inedible for anyone in any other co...more
This could have been a very fine book. The subject was interesting, and the author did her research, and overall I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about chocolate, and I thought that it was presented well in general.
Why I only gave it 3 stars:
* The author repeats herself A LOT. Quite often, in the exact same words. I don't think an editor ever saw this book. She doesn't just repeat things one more time--it's over & over & over. It made me wonder if this book originally was a series of articl...more
Why I only gave it 3 stars:
* The author repeats herself A LOT. Quite often, in the exact same words. I don't think an editor ever saw this book. She doesn't just repeat things one more time--it's over & over & over. It made me wonder if this book originally was a series of articl...more
Fascinating! I had a hard time not telling anyone around whatever interesting piece of info I learned on each page. My husband is reading it now so I would stop saying "Hey, did you know..."
This was an impulse grab in the Parma Snow branch of the Cuyahoga County Library (#1 Library in the Nation second year in a row in its category). The cover sucked me in and what was inside was sometimes as sweet. The book is old and so I'm sure some of the players have changed at the tops of both companies.
Still, the starts of the chocolate industry in this country and the main purveyors remains fascinating. The book does bog down in spots like when more than halfway through you're getting a le...more
Still, the starts of the chocolate industry in this country and the main purveyors remains fascinating. The book does bog down in spots like when more than halfway through you're getting a le...more
You'll never look at an M&M or Reese's Pieces the same
Interesting insight into the history of two the largest chocolate companies in the world. The book starts by telling the humble beginnings of Hershey and Mars and then contrasting their evolution into the modern day chocolate titans they have become. Anyone who is interested in chocolate and the food industry should read this book because it provides a good overview of two American heritage companies. Just be prepared to have a sudden urg...more
Interesting insight into the history of two the largest chocolate companies in the world. The book starts by telling the humble beginnings of Hershey and Mars and then contrasting their evolution into the modern day chocolate titans they have become. Anyone who is interested in chocolate and the food industry should read this book because it provides a good overview of two American heritage companies. Just be prepared to have a sudden urg...more
I've got a backlog of reviews, alas, from a summer spent in academic pursuits. So this one will have to be a bit lame. I can't really improve on the comments made in BusinessWeek, so I won't.
I will add to them, however. First, to say that it is a shame that Ms. Brenner has not seen fit (or perhaps had opportunity?) to continue her website or keep the information she provided up-to-date. This book ping-pongs the reader delightfully through the entire history of the Mars and Hershey companies... u...more
I will add to them, however. First, to say that it is a shame that Ms. Brenner has not seen fit (or perhaps had opportunity?) to continue her website or keep the information she provided up-to-date. This book ping-pongs the reader delightfully through the entire history of the Mars and Hershey companies... u...more
3 likes · like · see review
Next on my to-do list, get this book into the hands of my M.B.A.-holding, choco-holic mother. I'm the furthest thing from a business major, and not quite to her level of choco-holism (though I have been known to consume entire chocolate lava cakes) and this knocked my socks off. The most minor of downsides -- I think everyone I know is aware just how much I was enjoying the book because I simply, compulsively, could not stop talking about it... particularly in my office where there are way, way...more
Phew! Finally! I've been truckin' through this one for way too long now. I was really happy to see that the last 25 pages were notes and an index, so I was done sooner than I thought I'd be.
Okay, this wasn't a bad book, really, you just have to know what you're in for. I was expecting more "chocolate" and "secret" and less "world of Hershey and Mars." This book was primarily about the "chocolate wars" of these two large corporations. Any discussion about awesome things like candy bars, developin...more
Okay, this wasn't a bad book, really, you just have to know what you're in for. I was expecting more "chocolate" and "secret" and less "world of Hershey and Mars." This book was primarily about the "chocolate wars" of these two large corporations. Any discussion about awesome things like candy bars, developin...more
Oct 23, 2008
Annie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Annie by:
Kim
Shelves:
deserve-3-and-a-half-stars
How fitting that I would read this book right at the beginning of Halloween time, a major month for candy. This informative book traces the beginning of and evolution of Hershey and Mars, the largest candy companies in the United States. The men who founded them are starkly different, the Mars family secretive and paranoid, while Hershey gave his entire fortune away to run an orphanage for poor children. The author traces the transformation of the two companies through time, like how Hershey res...more
I'll never look at chocolate the same again.
This book was a surprisingly fascinating read. I kept reading out loud or telling my husband about what I was reading because it was all just so interesting and I wanted to share.
I knew the history of Milton Hershey and the Utopian community he tried to create as well as the orphanage he started. What I did not know was how the company he started was managed or mismanaged, as the case may be, after his death. In my opinion, it is nothing short of a mir...more
This book was a surprisingly fascinating read. I kept reading out loud or telling my husband about what I was reading because it was all just so interesting and I wanted to share.
I knew the history of Milton Hershey and the Utopian community he tried to create as well as the orphanage he started. What I did not know was how the company he started was managed or mismanaged, as the case may be, after his death. In my opinion, it is nothing short of a mir...more
What better book to read during the Trick or Treat Season than a book about chocolate? The Emperors of Chocolate is a non-fiction look at the history of 2 American chocolate companies: Hershey and Mars. The book looks at how both companies were founded, how they developed their businesses and the history of competition between the two. The book was very readable and filled with interesting factoids about the chocolate industry. The book alternates between the histories of Mars and Hershey and al...more
A very fascinating look at the chocolate industry. Lots of interesting details about the business and a bit about the personal lives of the people who created/maintained the largest chocolate corporations. Benevolent Hershey and harsh control freak Mars were stark contrasts. I was also surprised by how much non-chocolate products Mars and Hershey own (pet food, Uncle Ben's rice, other food and stuff). The content was great, but the book wasn't really compelling; it took me a long time to finish....more
hershey's was a three time failure at candy. his father was a louse. then one day he figured out a new way to make caramels. he sold to stores then opened his store, then stores. by 30 he was a mogul of caramels. then he sold his entire operation for 1 million, toured europe, studying milk chocolate techniques.
his version, invented soon after, was unusual in that he curdled his milk subtly and hence the sharp taste of hersheys was born: the first chocolate cheese.
forrest mars, the scion of the m...more
his version, invented soon after, was unusual in that he curdled his milk subtly and hence the sharp taste of hersheys was born: the first chocolate cheese.
forrest mars, the scion of the m...more
This was an interesting look into the Mars & Hershey companies from their inception to the near past. I enjoyed it for the most part. There were several needless repetitions due to the organization (or lack thereof) of the book. But, overall an informative and entertaining read. It did make me crave chocolate the whole way through, however. So maybe if the Mars execs weren't thrilled with the portrayal of themselves, they should be grateful for some free advertising and marketing!
A very interesting quasi-comparative history of the two major chocolate entities in the USA - Hershey & Mars, focusing on the biographies of their founders & their subsequent corporate histories. The material on the eccentricities found within the privately owned M&M/Mars corporation is the most entertaining. This book is part biography, part economic history via example, and part American success story. Definitely a great read for my fellow foodies.
I read this many years ago but just found myself thinking about it recently. I loved the juxtaposition of these two companies and their very, very different philosophies for making chocolate. I found myself eating a ton of chocolate while reading this book, as all the discussion of "mouth feel" and flavors was just too much for me! Recommend this highly though, and I don't usually like business books.
i read this as my advisory book. it is an interesting book. it talks about the history of hershey and the most grandeur hershey stores around the globe. it teaches the reader a lot about chemistry as well when they talk about the production process of their chocolates. an interesting fact is that they use 80% milk in their chocolate
i recommend this book to any chocolate fanatics
i recommend this book to any chocolate fanatics
Interesting business history, focusing on Hershey & Mars. Hershey started out as a privately owned company, and his ideas had a tight grip on the company's thinking long after his death. Mars is still a family owned company, with some oddities as a result of the founder's pecularities. Grasp on technical details sometimes slips. But enlightening on how companies do marketing.
If you are obsessed with chocolate and history, this is a fabulous read. Did Hershey really make his famous chocolate out of curdled milk? Is the uber-wealthy family behind those much-loved M&Ms as nutty as Brenner makes them out to be? Possibly not, but this is still an entertaining read. Just keep some handy, as you'll certainly crave chocolate while reading.
An inside look at the candy industry... Brenner focuses her writing primarily on Hershey and Mars. The book bounces around between characters and time periods as it covers Mars, then Hershey, then Mars, and so on. Because of this chapter volleying, some general information is repeated unnecessarily. Brenner does a nice job of sketching the big players, presents a lot of great business information that must have been a bear to gather. Must have been? No, Brenner reflects on the difficulty of her...more
The content here is interesting, but the organization is horrible. Brenner jumps around chronologically, following one company through a tangent, jumping back to the beginning, then following the other company through a different tangent. With the jumping around, he repeats a lot of information (to the point that, several times, I wondered if I'd accidentally flipped back a few pages without realizing).
Also, this is a little dated now--not the book's fault, but it was published in 1999. It's sa...more
Also, this is a little dated now--not the book's fault, but it was published in 1999. It's sa...more
I read this for a book club and found it surprisingly enjoyable. The Mars sections were little harder to get through than the Hershey sections. The current company practices are interesting. But the life of Milton Hershey is fascinating. I had no idea what an exemplary man he was. His experiences and kindness make me choose a Hershey's chocolate over a Snickers at the grocery check out.
Pretty interesting summary of the world of Mars and Hershey. Having grown up just outside of Hershey, PA, I figured I had been brainwashed into loving/idolizing Milton Hershey and hating Mars-and I was surprised that the author did a good job of giving me evidence to support my previously claimless biases! Overall, the topic is quite interesting and relatively well-presented (there are a few parts that seem disorganized or repetitive, but not so much as to turn one off of the overarching story)....more
As a chocolate lover who has lived near Hershey, PA, I found this book delicious. Centered around the birth, development, and rivalry of the two big American chocolate makers- Hershey and Mars- this book is full of fascinating details. Although the presentation and timeline are a little jumbled and the facts at times redundant, it is well worth the time of anyone who loves chocolate. I had no idea the world of confections was so complex and secretive.
PS- save yourself some time and have Hershey...more
PS- save yourself some time and have Hershey...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Joel Glenn Brenner, a former Washington Post business writer, is the author of "The Emperors of Chocolate".
Joël Glenn Brenner began reporting on the candy business in 1989. She is the first and only journalist ever to gain access to the Mars company, and her Washington Post Magazine cover story on Mars won numerous prizes. She was recognized five times by the Financial News Journalism Reporter as...more
More about Joël Glenn Brenner...
Joël Glenn Brenner began reporting on the candy business in 1989. She is the first and only journalist ever to gain access to the Mars company, and her Washington Post Magazine cover story on Mars won numerous prizes. She was recognized five times by the Financial News Journalism Reporter as...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
