| Description |
xiv, 312 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Content |
text txt |
| Media |
unmediated n |
| Carrier |
volume nc |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-295) and index. |
| Summary |
A product of nineteenth-century religious reform, twentieth-century media hype, and an enduring health food fanaticism, breakfast cereal has become an American institution. Part history, part expose, and part celebration, Cerealizing America chronicles the entire saga of cold cereal. The story begins in the late 1800s, when a young Adventist doctor named John Harvey Kellogg transformed Battle Creek, Michigan, into a mecca for health seekers. Among the thousands who came to experience his regimen of biologic living was C.W. Post, whose appropriation of Kellogg's recipes kicked off a struggle for breakfast table supremacy that continues to this day. As other cereal manufacturers entered the fray, so did the ad agencies, opening the door to sponsorship of radio and television shows from The Lone Ranger to The Beverly Hillbillies, premiums from decoder rings to Yukon real estate, and a cast of pitch-characters from Cap'n Crunch to Count Chocula. Filled to the brim with scandals, triumphs, and flukes; the Cream of Wheat boycott; the legal battle for Snap, Crackle, and Pop; the sugar-sweetened years and the oat bran craze, Cerealizing America features appearances by Ronald Reagan, Mr. T., Bullwinkle Moose, and the Dallas Cowboys, all lovingly and humorously presented. It will engross anyone interested in popular culture, business, or advertising, and cereal lovers the world over. |
| Contents |
pt. I. The profits of health. 1. Manifest stomachache : Diagnosis: dyspepsia ; Put back the bran ; Water, water everywhere -- 2. Apocalypse chow : A vision of health ; John Harvey Kellogg, the printer's devil ; Kellogg's Club Med ; The perfect flake -- 3. The original Grape-Nut : The Road to Wellville ; There's a reason ; Asinine views -- 4. The great cereal rush : Quacks and flakes ; Sunny Jim ; Edible linoleum ; It's in the shreds -- 5. Battle Creek babylon : The flunkey ; None genuine without this signature ; The flaming sword ; The battle of the bran ; I don't like applesauce -- pt. II. The dawn of the grain gods. 6. Some like it hot and mushy : The oatmeal king ; Autocrat of the breakfast table ; Rastus ; I dare you ; Shot from guns -- 7. Spoon in tomorrow : The first jingle ; Skippy and the Lindbergh baby ; Tom Mix ; Shazam! ; The all-American boy ; Breakfast of champions -- 8. Building a better mouth trap : Snap, crackle, pop ; The mouse that scored ; The mental kid ; Cheerioats. |
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pt. III. Presweet stampede. 9. Dynamite in a dish : Ranger Joe breaks trail ; Cuts up your mouth like glass ; Frosting on the flakes ; Edible alphabet ; The big red K -- 10. Leo the lion : Black-and-white breakfast ; The gold dust twins ; Sugar Pops are tops ; Superman -- 11. Galloping goodness : Wizards of the breakfast table ; Blast off ; Oaters -- 12. The carton club : The colorful subconscious ; Post tries harder ; By nook or by crook ; Kellogg culture -- 13. Disney diaspora : He's GR-R-REAT ; Big oafish ; Marky Maypo steals the show -- pt. IV. Tummy vision. 14. From hillbillies to bubblegum : Mornings in Mayberry ; The Jethro bowl ; Oh, that's corny ; Bob Richards for president ; Rock 'n' bowl -- 15. Yogi and the fun hogs : Smarter than the average bear ; The Banana Splits ; Little Leos -- 16. Post mortem : The advertising beat ; Linus the Lionhearted ; Breakfast in Bedrock ; Freeze-dried flop ; Little boxes, big problems -- 17. Psychedelic cereal : Rocky and Bullwinkle ; Silly rabbit ; Marabits and monstrosities -- 18. The kingdom of crunch : Cap'n Crunch ; Quisp and Quake ; Team players -- pt. V. The cereal reformation. 19. Ultra-trash backlash : Breakfast of chumps ; FTC baloney-enriched yum-yums ; Barbarians at the bowl ; Bran craze ; Cereal savanarola -- 20. Baby boomer breakfast : Johnny Granola Seed ; Freakies ; Pig in the python ; Coupon crazy -- 21. Cereal vérité : Rat chow ; Sugar-coated vitamins ; Cereal sanctus. |
| Subject(s) |
Cereal products industry -- History.
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| Alternate Author |
Crawford, Bill, 1955-
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