Starbucked

Entertaining, illuminating and reflective are not qualities usually associated with corporate histories. But Taylor Clark, former Willamette Week alt-weekly journalist, Dartmouth College graduate and Portland resident, has written a story about one business that's all of these. Several years ago while sitting outside a neighborhood cafe with friends, Clark found himself "wondering out loud how far one could possibly get from the nearest Starbucks store while still staying within the city limits." His friends laughed, but Clark was serious. As he began to think about Starbucks and its impact on our culture, he concluded that the idea had the makings of a great story. His editors disagreed. He reframed his story, and soon it had legs. His revamped notion - examining whether or not Starbucks was really as bad as its detractors claimed - happened to coincide with an attempt to burn down a local Starbucks. "Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce and Culture" is the eminently readable result. Clark explains that his purpose in writing the book was "to tell the story of how a major corporation, peddling a simple, age-old commodity, influences the daily life and culture of the world."