“A thoughtful look at the Starbucks craze, its psychological roots, and what left the once seemingly unstoppable chain so vulnerable to the reversal of fortune that has led to the shuttering of hundreds of stores (and thousands of jobs). . . . It’ll only take you a few days to read Everything but the Coffee, but once you’re done, you may not look at coffee—or at anything you buy—the same way again.”
“Enjoyable and interesting.”
“Everything but the Coffee presents Starbucks as a jumping off point for the cultural anxieties and sensibilities that have come to define America since the ‘90s. Presented in a clear, concise and accessible manner, Simon guides the reader along an entire journey through middle-class America that will leave you wondering how a simple cup of coffee could ever mean so much.”
“Those who dip into, or maybe sip at, (as they might a frappuccino in Starbucks) this book will be rewarded with a nice read, a lot of information and a wide-ranging set of insights into a phenomenon that is indeed important in itself, as well as for what it tells us about America and increasingly, the world.”
“When Bryant Simon’s book, Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks arrived in my mail, I thought, great, just what we need: another book by an academic that attempts to understand the world through a simplistic lens, like salt, sushi or coffee. That this genre sells well probably motivated Simon’s publisher. But Simon’s book is better and more honest than most of the genre in recognizing the limitations of both author and subject. . . . Simon shows us how we really live, and it ain’t pretty. There was a time, not so long ago, Simon reminds us, that many of us wondered why people would pay so much money for a cup of coffee—even as we were edging closer in line to place our own order.”
“Simon knows more about Starbucks—and about why so many Americans find perfection in their lattes—than anyone. He connects our deepest desires to be good, smart, ethical consumers with our equally strong yearning to consume in an authentic way. Our coffee, Simon shows, is us.”—Sharon Zukin, author of Naked City
