Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers

So you are standing in a convenience store...staring at the nearly endless display of chocolate bars...smarties, coffee crisp, kit kat, Hershey's Almond bar, Cadbury Chunky, Lindt dark chocolate, and the list, variety and possibilities go on and on. And while you are letting your taste buds control your purchasing power do you ever think about the story behind the cornucopia of pleasure you are faced with? Odds are you are just want some chocolate.

There was a hint of the drama late in 2009 and early January of this year when Kraft Foods paid out 20 Billion dollars US to scoop up Cadbury, its markets and its secrets. But that was only the latest twist in the story of how Chocolate bars came to rule the world. The whole story is packed solid with God, War, Slavery, Christian Conscience, Court Cases, Industrial Espionage, the never ending quest for technological innovation and a century and a half worth of debate on good business practices. The story is at times awe inspiring and at other times nigh on unbelievable.

And it's the story that award winning BBC Documentary Maker and author, Deborah Cadbury - yes, there is a relation - tells in her absorbing new book, Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers. Deborah Cadbury was in our London Studios.