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Mark Thomas
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BELCHING OUT THE DEVIL: GLOBAL ADVENTURES WITH COCA-COLA Paperback – January 1, 2008

by MARK THOMAS (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 63 ratings
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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 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.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    EBURY PRESS
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    5.31 x 1.1 x 8.46 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0091922933
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0091922931
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ EBURY PRESS (January 1, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0091922933
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0091922931
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.1 x 8.46 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 63 ratings

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Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
63 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

LJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2011
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I'm a Mark Thomas fan, and I new that I liked him before buying this book. This was my second book of his after reading 'As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela: Underground Adventures in the Arms and Torture Trade'. This one is very much in a similar vain, ranting but with intellect and proactive actions to back it all up.

Mark Thomas = necessary education.
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Darlene Hedges
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2015
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I recieved the book and its a great read. It also came so fast. love it
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M. Ahmed
4.0 out of 5 stars Coca Cola, sit up, listen and 'do the right thing.'
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2011
This book really does make you think on how some big businesses actually behave in reality in todays global world. The buzzword, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and associated spin, spun by Coca Cola made me think really hard about a company that I held in high respect, prior to reading this book.

I just hope that Coca Cola learns from the exploits of Mark Thomas, absorbs the feedback and 'does the right thing' for the future of not only its employees but the people and communities, it touches.
3 people found this helpful
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Megan Wells
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2016
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Helped me to stop drinking soda!!
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mermaidyu
3.0 out of 5 stars thanks to one of my students that I finally get a better idea of it
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2018
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This is an interesting book to read, especially in terms of the non-objective "gonzo journalism". But I think in order to belch out the devil, there are more convincing ways to write the book. For example, the whole anti- trade union activity is conducted in Colombia, Turkey, and a little bit in Ireland, how about the situation in coca cola's home country? Or other western European countries?
Also, about the monopoly against big cola in Mexico, thanks to one of my students that I finally get a better idea of it: all the drinks come with refrigerators provided by coca cola and small shop owners cannot afford to buy them, but they are not allowed to put other brands into the refrigerator.
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R. A. Barricklow(Scaramouche)
5.0 out of 5 stars Coca-Cola's Image Is Corrected Without Need Of Glasses!
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2009
I will have to be honest & say this is not for Faux News Fans (I will leave it to the reader to guess the network/s). Of course, this would never make Faux news as those anchors would choke on the Damn Truth before speaking it to power. This disclaimer is just to save the naive mainstream news addict's stomachs from belching out the devil should they be so blessedly biased.
Mark Smith is a modern day Mark Twain using pop humor with a delicious twist of wickedness. His writing is a welcome treasure I found by surfing Amazon. It is on the mark, clever, humorous, & biting + plus the way he's sarcastically twisting corporate lies with a malicious glee is just the way I like my martinis/with bite.
The following are some of the business practices of Coca-Cola that Mark puts in his investigatve journalistic crosshairs: communties lack of access to clean water; working with no job security protection, with long hours and no pay; children working in fields for Coke's sugar who are not given a hands up and condemned to poverty; unsafe working conditions; fired for any whiff of union on their clothing or in their minds; unpaid taxes; taking the water from communities that desperately need it for their families - just to survive; & by monopolizing local markets, so that other local competitors are effectively taken out of their own markets.
Get the picture? (If not your vision will be uncorporatized by reading, Belching Out The Devil.)
There a serious business side to Mark's humorous writing style. It was his style that it made it more palatable for me in this, the not so pleasant business of knowing what the corporate media does not want me to know. The problem is that Coke is no longer palatable to me.
There are many stories here of people and places around the globe. My favorite was of Raquel Chavez who took a bold stand against the giant Coca-Cola company and won. Not Money but her Pride... she will always be a sour name for Coke. As the author relates, she was recently visited by a student who was doing a new course on monopoly practices in business and wanted to study her case. For me, as well as anyone who reads this story, you too will find a certain joy that a woman who had fought so hard for her children to go on to higher education, is finding her storty being taught at that university.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!
2 people found this helpful
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J.C. Bernhardt
3.0 out of 5 stars Have a Coke and a frown!
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2009
Does this book make you not want to drink a Coke? I am not so sure. I have read similiar exposes about Wal-Mart and the fast food industry and this book is not as convincing an indictment. The book seemed more of an indictment of common insidious multi-national practices than an argument that we might actually be better off if the world just drank Pepsi and Big Cola instead of Coke.

The disreputable practices described here such as union busting, worker mistreatment, making Mexican kids fat, and stealing a town's water supply are things that many multi--national companies might well could be accused of.
Practices of American companies in foreign companies are often highly questionable, and sadly it's not exactly a shock or surprise to see that Coca-Cola would be engaging in such practices.

I was interested in what Coke might be doing in America,such as it anti-competitive practices,or attempts to put soft drink machines in schools ,but the book does not cover that subject very well.I do applaud the author's courage and good humour. I also applaud the lady Mexican store owner who had the courage to stock Big Cola in the face of the Coca-Cola intimidation.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Miki J
5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Thomas rules!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2014
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Mark Thomas is my favourite stand-up comedian anyway.

This book is a serious attempt by Thomas, a self-confessed Coca-Cola lover, to look at the workings of the Coca-Cola company, how it operates globally in its quest to conquer the soft drinks market. It looks at Coca-Cola's relationships with bottling companies in South America, child labour that exists to furnish Coca-Cola's needs, water supplies in Asia that are syphoned to supply Coca-Cola factories.

I have not purchased a single Coca-Cola product since reading this book and I urge anyone who cares about the ethics of corporations to read Mark Thomas's book.
One person found this helpful
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Rita Gregory
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2016
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Bought this for my son as we both agree with Marks views
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Jamtex
5.0 out of 5 stars Hard hitting but humourous book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2014
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Mark Thomas writes a hard hitting book about the naughty things that Coca Cola get up to and then claim no responsbility for, he meets lots of people whose lives have been affected and does make you think about what companies try to get away with. He still adds humour to it, normal against coca cola and it stays with you. Buy this book, you won't regret it. In fact buy his other books too.
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J. Driscoll
5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for the author, 0 stars for the publisher
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 26, 2009
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Everything you would expect from the formidable Mr. Thomas. Well researched, rational writing on the despicable treatment of anybody not part of the company by Coca-Cola.
Unfortunately it would appear the publishers have saved money by not employing a proof reader. The whole book is littered with spelling/typing mistakes and grammatical errors. Very annoying when the RRP is £11.99.
4 people found this helpful
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T W South Wales
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2016
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Very thought provoking read, laced with wry humour as always. It has made me see the company and its products in a new light.
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