Claiming to have eaten at least a piece of candy every day of his life, Almond first establishes his candy credentials. By turns ecstatic, comic, and bittersweet, Candyfreak is the story of how Steve Almond grew up on candy-and how, for better and worse, candy has grown up, too. Steve Almond has written a comic but ultimately bittersweet story of how he grewup on candy-and how, for better and worse, the candy industry has grown up, too. Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America (2004) is a humorous, nonfiction book about the American candy industry. Almond, a self-diagnosed candyfreak, details with mouthwatering descriptions his visits to the minor league of candy makers who continue to churn out their distinctive products. Part candy porn, part candy polemic, part social history, part confession, Candyfreak explores the role candy plays in our lives as both source of pleasure and escape from pain. Candy freak is the delicious story of one man's lifelong obsession with candy and his quest to discover its origins in America. Today's precious few regional candy makers mount daily battles against corporate greed, paranoia, and that good old American compulsion: crushing the little guy.

Visiting the candy factories that produce the Twin Bing, the Idaho Spud, the Goo Goo Cluster, the Valomilk, and a dozen other quirky bars, Almond finds that the world of candy is no longer a sweet haven. There, he found an industry ruled by huge conglomerates, where the little guys, the last remaining link to the glorious boom years of the candy bar in America, struggle to survive. When I called Steve Almond for a morning phone interview, I had a specific question in mind.

In fact, he was so obsessed by the inexplicable disappearance of these bars-where'd they go?-that he embarked on a nationwide journey to uncover the truth about the candy business. By JOANNA STEIN Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America By Steve Almond 280 pages. The Marathon, an inimitable rope of caramel covered in chocolate. Perhaps you remember the whipped splendor of the Choco-Lite, or the luscious Caravelle bar, or maybe the sublime and perfectly balanced Hershey's Cookies 'n Mint.

Candyfreak by steve almond