Description
Journalist Murray Carpenter has been under the influence of a drug for nearly three decades. And he's in good company, because chances are you're hooked, too. Humans have used caffeine for thousands of years. A bitter white powder in its most essential form, a tablespoon of it would kill even the most habituated user. This addictive, largely unregulated substance is everywhere--in places you'd expect (like coffee and chocolate) and places you wouldn't (like chewing gum and fruit juice), and Carpenter reveals its impact on soldiers, athletes, and even children. It can make you stronger, faster, and more alert, but it's not perfect, and its role in health concerns like obesity and anxiety will surprise you. Making stops at the coffee farms of central Guatemala, a synthetic caffeine factory in China, and an energy shot bottler in New Jersey, among numerous other locales around the globe, Caffeinated exposes the high-stakes but murky world of caffeine, drawing on cutting-edge science and larger-than-life characters to offer an unprecedented understanding of America's favorite drug.
Author: Murray Carpenter
Publisher: Plume Books
Published: 01/27/2015
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.30w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9780142181805
ISBN10: 0142181803
BISAC Categories:
- Health & Fitness | Diet & Nutrition | General
- Self-Help | Substance Abuse & Addictions | Drugs
- Health & Fitness | Healthy Living & Personal Hygiene
About the Author
Murray Carpenter has reported caffeine-related stories for the New York Times, Wired, National Geographic, NPR, and PRI's The World. He has also written for the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, and other media outlets. He holds a degree in psychology from the University of Colorado and a master of science in environmental studies from the University of Montana, and has worked as a medical lab assistant in Ohio, a cowboy in Colombia, a farmhand in Virginia, and an oil-exploring "juggie" in Wyoming. He lives in Belfast, Maine.