For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It

by Mark Pendergrast

From publisher: From its invention as a cocaine-laced patent medicine in the Gilded Age to its globe-drenching ubiquity as the ultimate symbol of consumer capitalism in the twenty-first century, Coca-Cola’s dramatic history unfolds as the ultimate business saga. In this fully revised and expanded edition of For God, Country & Coca-Cola, Mark Pendergrast looks at America’s cultural, social, and economic history through the bottom of a green glass Coke bottle and tells the captivating story of the world’s most recognizable consumer product.

Mark Pendergrast is an independent scholar who brews a fantastic cup of coffee. He is the author of many books, including For God, Country and Coca-Cola. He lives in Vermont.
 
Basic Books, 2013