Ross Collins, professor of communication, has published a new academic book, “Chocolate. A Cultural Encyclopedia.”

The book is available through ABC-Cleo, Santa Barbara, California. The hardcover book sells for $97.

“The 422-page book covers just about everything about chocolate from 8000 B.C. to 2021. We're talking about a history of slavery, of colonialism, of medicine, of big business, of agriculture and of culture because chocolate is a big part of all that during the last 500 years. And, of course, it’s everybody's favorite treat,” Collins said. “The book is the product of more than three years of research, comprising 10 essays and 80 articles (two essays and recipes are written by contributors). While we can find a lot of books on chocolate out there, I don't know of anything that matches the comprehensive approach of this. It's based on about 500 sources, many of them original.”

Collins said the book is fully referenced and produced by an academic publisher of stature.

“I hope the book will be an authoritative source of cacao history and culture,” Collins said. “I think people would be interested in it.”

Collins earned his bachelor’s degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead, master’s degree at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom and doctorate at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

He has taught a variety of classes at the graduate and undergraduate levels that emphasize theoretical as well as practical aspects of mass communication, including topics such as U.S. and international journalism history, journalism ethics, principles of web design, graphic design, editing, photography and mass media writing.

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