My first book was going to be a history of sugar. I collected materials for
years and thought I could write a history of the world history through sugar
(which I still think is a good idea).

Two problems came up. The first was that I located tens of thousands of books
and articles that I would have felt obligated to read; the second was that Sid
Mintz published his "Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History"
(1985), which was excellent. I assumed that publishers would not be interested
in another book on sugar until it went out of print, so I started collecting
material on the history of tomatoes, a topic that little had been written on.
This was a good decision. Mintz's book, of course, has never gone out of print
and it's not likely to do so anytime soon... Most upsetting.

Andy Smith

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>Thanks for the feedback. It was really fun to research and I only
>touched the surface of the sugar story. I'm doing an expanded version
>for another magazine which will include more detailed information on
>sugar history and how it came to the US and affected slavery.
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>I think the next issue of Food History News will have the glosssary in
>it. I found that one of the more difficult portions of the article to
>research.
>
>Virginia Mescher

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