Belching Out the Devil: Global Adventures with Coca-Cola
by Mark Thomas
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List Price: ££11.99
Our Price: ££6.83
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Ebury Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780091922931
ISBN: 0091922933
Label: Ebury Press
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2008-09-25
Publisher: Ebury Press
Studio: Ebury Press
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: We need more men Like Mark Thomas
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: An expose of globalisation, as much as a book about Coke
Comment: I've always liked Mark Thomas' brand of protest politics, investigative journalism and stand-up comedy, so I was interested to see he has taken on the mighty Coca Cola empire.
My first impressions of this particular book though, are two-fold: firstly, that's a terrible name. Secondly, it's a terrible cover. Still, it's the writing inside that counts, and all is well on that front.
`Belching out the devil' chronicles a series of journeys to various parts of the world to meet those who have experienced `the Coke side of life'. There are Indian farmers with empty wells, Colombian trade unionists with collections of death threats, hassled Mexican shopkeepers who committed the unforgivable sin of stocking rival brand `Big Cola' in their fridges. Thomas does a great job of portraying these characters, giving them faces and names and vividly describing their communities, interspersing their stories with his own amusing travel writing.
Coca Cola get the right to reply, and a pattern rapidly emerges: because Coca Cola operate a franchise system, their back is always covered. "The Coca Cola Company does not own or operate any bottling plants in Colombia" has always, famously, been their answer to accusations of union busting, even to the point where 7 union organisers were killed at one bottling plant. They are able to say the same of the bottlers in India who are lowering the water table, or the ones employing children in El Salvador.
As Thomas says, "no matter where the human rights abuses occurred, if it's your name on the label then you're responsible for sorting it out." Unfortunately this could be said of almost every major corporation, from oil companies to high street fashion houses. Brands should not be allowed to hide behind middle men.
In the end,`Belching out the devil' is really an expose of branding, of globalisation and its winners and losers, using Coca Cola as a case study. As such, despite the title and the cover, it's rather good.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bad corporation
Comment: This is an educational and and enjoyable read even though the story is about the blighted lives of people on different continents at the hands of coke.
Mark exposes the staunch anti union attitudes of the company, the damage they cause to the environment and the lies they tell when fingers are pointed at them, not to mention the bully-boy tactics when their grasp on the market is threatened.
It's only sugary water after all.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not all sweetness and sugar
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: problems of sugary caramel water
Comment: Belching Out the Devil: Global Adventures with Coca-Cola
The author offers a honest and unbiased account of a journey across the globe to find the truth behind coca-cola. The writing style is warm and entertaining packed with interesting facts which bring you to really question what else you could have with your whisky. Belching out the devil offers a clear and concise account of the sociological, economical and political problems coca-cola brings to communities when it sets up business. I will never drink coca-cola ever again, and I hope you wont either.
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