From the author of Why We Get Fat, an eye-opening expose that makes the convincing case that sugar is the tobacco of the new millennium: backed by powerful lobbies, entrenched in our lives, and making us very sick. Diabetes is more prevalent today than ever; obesity is at epidemic proportions; nearly 10% of children are thought to have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. And sugar is at the root of these, and other, critical society-wide, health-related problems. Gary Taubes delves into Americans' history with sugar: its uses as a preservative, as an additive in cigarettes and the contemporary overuse of high-fructose corn syrup. What research shows about our addiction to sweets. The arguments against sugar, misconceptions about the relationship between sugar and weight loss; and the perspective necessary to make informed decisions about sugar as individuals and as a society.