SUGAR MAKES SWEET

An odd, nicely illustrated volume that suffers from serious content problems.

"Many years ago” (unspecified), "slaves used to cut down sugar cane with big heavy knives," after which they boiled down the cane and poured the steaming juice from kettle to kettle. This process continued until Norbert Rillieux invented a sugar-refining machine. Sims focuses the narrative on Rillieux and his invention, which made the process easier and the sugar better. With the old method, sugar remained "dark and thick"; Rillieux’s stated goal was to cook it "without turning it brown." However, the author never explains why brown sugar is inadequate: Is it burnt? Is it unpalatable? Did the sugar’s darkness and molasses-like consistency affect its distribution? Lacking explanation, the issue become aesthetic. Worse, the author’s references to slavery are cavalier and obscure. Rillieux was "a slave," says Sims, "but he was sent to college." Readers who understand slavery won’t understand how he was sent to college. More importantly, however, the information is incorrect: Rillieux was actually either born free or freed at birth; he was never a slave. Tracing this error is impossible because Sims offers no citations or sources. The second-to-last sentence–"His invention helped the slaves and it helped everybody in the world"–dangerously oversimplifies by ignoring context. The illustrations, on the other hand, are excellently composed and designed.

The text’s glaring missteps–including vagueness, factual inaccuracy and lack of citations–sink this effort.