Like the possibly toxic basis of artificial sweetener, this story is not at all sugar coated. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Sweet and Low is a mud-slinging account of one family's spectacular rise and fall through several generations from the viewpoint of Rich Cohen, a somewhat bitter disinherited grandson. It begins with his grandfather Ben Eisenstadt's invention of a convenient and sanitary alternative to sugar dispensers – the now ubiquitous sugar packet. His unpatented innovation is quickly stolen by Domino Sugar. Instead of accepting defeat Ben goes on to revolutionize both modern packaging and the entire food industry. His sugar replacement Sweet'N Low changes diets worldwide and makes him rich. Unfortunately mismanagement by his sons, health scares, and corruption nearly bring the company and family down. Behind everything are back stabbing, scheming, and crazy relatives.

Cohen mixes the dirt with huge helpings of context. Eager to read about all the wacky family kibitzing, I was surprised to learn the histories of sugar, slavery, Jews in New York, New York's navy yard, and dieting, all within the first hundred or so pages. Cohen somehow packs a lot into bite-size chunks with humor and plain language. I got so into the history lessons that when the second half of the book returned focus to the family scandals I felt a little unsatisfied. It's a bit unbalanced and Cohen is obviously quite biased and speculative, but even supposed truths are sometimes stranger – and tastier – than fiction.

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