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A Secret History of Brands
A Secret History of Brands: The Dark and Twisted Beginnings of the Brand Names We Know and Love | Matt Macnabb
4 posts | 4 read | 10 to read
The trueand often shockingstories behind some of the biggest names in business. We live our lives immersed in name brand products. What most of us don't know is that the origins of many of the most well-known and beloved brands in the world are shrouded in controversy, drug use, and sometimes even blatant racism. A Secret History of Brands cuts through the rumors and urban legends and paints a picture of the true dark history of famous brands, like Coca-Cola, Hugo Boss, Adidas, Ford, Bayer, Chanel, and BMW, among others. Learn about: the mystery of the cocaine content of Coca-Cola the Hitler-Henry Ford connection why Bayer is famous for aspirin, but began their journey with Heroin how Kellogg's Corn Flakes were crafted to deter sexual arousal and more
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review
RainyDayReading
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Mehso-so

Interesting enough. The writing of the individual chapters in here regarding each brand didn‘t seem that strong to me and almost every brand mentioned in here had something to do with the Nazis in WWII. Which is interesting to learn but it got really repetitive and one of the brands in here I had never heard of 🤷🏼‍♀️ Fun to read for trivia tidbits but that‘s about it. Pretty meh feeling otherwise.
#SuperSeptember Book 1/4

review
RamsFan1963
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Pickpick

I'd heard most of these stories before, Coco Chanel being a Nazi spy was a new one on me though, but the author told them in an entertaining fashion, delving into not just the brands but the history and, some times tragic, lives of the creators. 3 💥💥💥 1/2

Tkgbjenn1 Sounds interesting 4y
Crazeedi Btw, she wasn't a nazi spy, that was spread about her because she stayed in Paris , read 4y
Crazeedi Sounds like a good book 4y
See All 10 Comments
RamsFan1963 @Crazeedi I don't know about that, she had a high ranking Nazi spy as a lover, and she received preferential treatment from them, if not a spy at least a Nazi sympathizer. 4y
Bookwomble @Crazeedi "Anti-Semitic, homophobic, social climbing, opportunistic, ridiculously snobbish ... and actively collaborated with the Germans during the Nazi occupation of Paris." She sounds awful according to recent(ish) research. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/books/review/sleeping-with-the-enemy-coco-cha... 4y
Crazeedi @RamsFan1963 she may have been, open to discussion. I don't hold with NYT opinion 4y
BookNAround @RamsFan1963 I read a bio of her recently (it wasn't good) and not only was she sleeping with him during the war, but she continued after the war when the extent of the Nazi atrocities was more than clear to everyone, even if she could claim she didn't know at the time. Although I'd argue if she was as smart and savvy as the rest of her life suggests, she'd have to have been temporarily blind, deaf, and dumb not to know that her lover was a Nazi. 4y
BookNAround And therefore be complicit as a collaborator at best. 4y
charl08 Has anyone read Sebba's book about the experience of being female in Paris during WW2? I always think I am lucky not to have been born then, I think the fear would have been immobilising. 4y
RamsFan1963 @charl08 Its easy to look back on something 70+ years later and say "oh I would never have done that" but you don't know what you're capable of when put into a life and death situation like that. 4y
62 likes5 stack adds10 comments
review
Tove_Reads
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Pickpick

All in all a good book. I knew some from before, and sometimes it went off topic. Otherwise well worth a read. It‘s a short book. The book shows us money does not make us happy. If we think we live in a racist world, well, Henry Ford, Hugo Boss, and the others were bad, bad men. Many big brands have a Nazi history, a lot of sicknesses and mental health problems when it comes to the families behind the brands. Also, Coco Chanel was a Nazi spy.

45 likes2 stack adds
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Tove_Reads
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wanderinglynn Interesting. 5y
Crazeedi I knew Coca Cola used to have cocaine in way back when, but I never knew this. And I knew ophthalmologists used cocaine for eye drops (I worked for one) 5y
25 likes2 stack adds2 comments