The Coke Machine - Michael Blanding [0]
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Introduction
Part One - “ALL THAT AMERICA STANDS FOR”
ONE - A Brief History of Coke
TWO - Building the Brand
THREE - Biggering and Biggering
FOUR - The Battle for Schools
FIVE - The Bottled Water Lie
Part Two - TEACHING THE WORLD TO SING
SIX - “¡Toma lo Bueno!”
SEVEN - “Syrup in the Veins”
EIGHT - The Full Force of the Law
NINE - All the Water in India
TEN - The Case Against “Killer Coke”
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Published by the Penguin Group
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Copyright © 2010 by Michael Blanding
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blanding, Michael.
The Coke machine : the dirty truth behind the world’s favorite soft drink / Michael Blanding.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN : 978-1-101-44340-8
1. Coca-Cola Company—History. 2. Soft drink industry.
3. Bottled water industry. 4. International business enterprises. I. Title.
HD9349.S634C
338.7’66362—dc22
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication.
Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
http://us.penguingroup.com
For Alex—for everything
Introduction
The Coca-Cola bottling plant in Carepa, Colombia, is an unlovely pile of brick on the outskirts of a sweltering Caribbean backwater. It sits past sad dogs blinking away flies on dirty streets, men loading yuccas and plantains into peddle carts, and gaudy open-roof chivas spewing diesel fumes as they idle by the roadside. Surrounding it, fields stretch to the horizon, studded with lonely palm and banana trees. The only consolation is a roadside Madonna on the edge of the gravel parking lot, a solitary benediction to bless the way of those leaving town.
On the morning of December 5, 1996, two men pulled a motorbike into the gravel driveway. They circled the parking lot a few times before coming to a stop in front of the gate. Inside the battered chain-link fence was a courtyard piled with soda crates waiting to be loaded onto delivery trucks. On either side was a wall of heavy pink brick, painted with the Coke logo. And to the right, a small gatehouse set into the wall looked through metal slats at the parking lot.
The motorcycle’s passenger dismounted,