Reviews for John Galsworthy and Disabled Soldiers of the Great War: With an Illustrated Selection of his...

The average rating for John Galsworthy and Disabled Soldiers of the Great War: With an Illustrated Selection of his... based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-02-20 00:00:00 Chris Stuck "Chocolate manufacture has been conceived in raced and gendered terms. A hierarchical progress narrative of the cocoa chain is constructed in which 'black and brown' workers (usually identified as men) farm the cocoa; white male workers in the west transform this into chocolate; white women render chocolate aesthetically pleasing through their feminine skills of decorating and packing; and white western consumers (particularly women) consume the finished product". I'm not sure I'd ever have read this book if I didn't know the author (we were friends at school - the Joseph Rowntree School, to be precise, named after the Quaker chocolatier. The school is located in the village built by the Rowntree's company to house its workers, and is just a mile or so down the road from the Rowntree's chocolate factory that is the focus of much of this book). I'm really glad I did, though, as it was very interesting, and more accessible than I thought it might be. It even mentions Willy Wonka in the very first paragraph, if you're worried about it being too dry! Having said that, this is an academic book, written in an academic style. I'm used to that (albeit in a different field), but the text might be a little dense for those who aren't used to the format. The book covers the role of women, especially women of colour, in the entire chocolate production chain, and features interviews with Nigerian cocoa farmers and workers from the Rowntree's chocolate factory. I found the latter section the most interesting, closely followed by the chapter on marketing and advertising tactics for different types of chocolate (e.g. bars vs. fancy assortments) through the years. This isn't a fully comprehensive survey, but it's definitely a great introduction, and I learned a lot about the company whose name was so important in my home town, as well as about the town itself and the broader chocolate and cocoa industry.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-11-02 00:00:00 Daniel A. Cavuoto The author explores the role of women and gender in the cacao industry in the 20th century Commonwealth world. This is a rather niche topic, and not all of the book might be your cup of tea. However, since each chapter functions more-or-less as a standalone essay, you can focus on whatever is most interesting to you. For instance, I mainly focused on Chapter 1 (gender in advertising) and Chapter 2 (the role of British imperialism in spreading the cacao industry) and just skimmed the other chapters. For reference - chapter 3 is about the Nigerian women, chapter 4 is about women at the factory in Britain, and chapter 5 is about the role of women in the global processing of cacao.