Mark's expose of The Coca Cola Company

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Product Description

Coca-Cola and its logo are everywhere. In our homes, our workplaces, and even our schools. It is a company that sponsors the Olympics, backs US presidents and even re-brands Santa Claus. A truly universal product, it has even been served in space. From Istanbul to Mexico City, Mark travels the globe investigating the stories and people Coca-Cola's iconic advertising campaigns don't mention such as: child labourers in the sugar cane fields of El Salvador; Indian workers exposed to toxic chemicals; Colombian union leaders falsely accused of terrorism and jailed alongside the paramilitaries who want to kill them; and, many more. Provocative, funny and stirring, 'Belching Out the Devil' investigates the truth behind one of the planet's biggest brands.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #140623 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
This is great comedy, great travel writing, and great reporting --The Times (27/09/2008)

By far the most entertaining left-wing polemicist currently operating, as well as one of the smartest and most effective --The Times (27/09/2008)

A compelling investigation --Financial Times (02/11/2008)

Review
'By far the most entertaining left-wing polemicist currently operating, as well as one of the smartest and most effective' - Times

Review
`A compelling investigation'

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Customer Reviews

Not all sweetness and sugar
Reading any of Mark Thomas's books, articles, or even watching an episode of the television series that preceeded them always leaves me feeling angry, depressed and with a real frustration that I am doing little to make the world a better place. So it was with some trepidation that I finally picked up Belching Out The Devil. I was also concerned that as a conscientious consumer who already avoids Coca-Cola that the book would merely be preaching to the converted (me).

Belching Out The Devil brings you on a journey around the world, tackling the many issues that blacken the Coca-Cola brand; the infringement on workers rights, the environmental impact and drought caused by the bottling plants and the pure disregard that The Coca-Cola Company has for the communities it inhabits. It is an easy read packed with hard hitting facts, humour and pop culture references which help you connect with the author, meaning that he becomes a character in his own book rather than assuming the role of preacher. It is well researched and leaves no hole for Coca-Cola to wiggle through. At all times Coca-Cola are asked to respond to Mark Thomas's allegations and at all times his questions are greeted with frustrating PR spiel, there is a hope that if Coca-Cola learn anything from this book it would be to stop making excuses and actually commit themselves fully to the corporate social responsibility they espouse.

There is no call to action in Belching Out The Devil but it does leave you with the sensation of needing to do something, weather it be a boycott or just awareness raising amongst those you know. Some of the stories contained within are reassuring proof that it is possible for one person to make a difference.

A view into the dark side of the sweet stuff
When Mark Thomas digs his teeth into something, it's rarely a comfortable experience, but always an enlightening one. In his search for the story behind one of the world's largest brands, Mark talks to farmers whose wells have dried up, workers sacked for daring to belong to a union, and many other people who have suffered because of Coca Cola and its subsidiaries.

A well researched, well written book that should be on the top of everyone's list. Particularly if, like me, you actually quite like Coke.

We need more men Like Mark Thomas
No one else seems to have the cohones of this man, I applaud him, for both his tenacity, but also for his humor in the face of so much global misery, having recently seen his live show as well I have even more admiration for him, buy this book and admire the man that dares to go up against big business and Governments.