05/22/2017
Medical historian Markel (An Anatomy of Addiction) delves into the contentious relationship between two highly accomplished brothers, exploring their impact on American culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though they worked together for years, John Harvey Kellogg, founder of Michigan’s Battle Creek Sanitarium, and Will Keith Kellogg, a pioneer in the breakfast-cereal industry, spent much of their lives feuding, both in and out of court. Yet as Markel points out, “The lives and times of the Kellogg brothers afford a superb window through which we can view vast changes in social mores, belief systems, lifestyles, diets, health, science, medicine, public health, philanthropy, education, business, mass advertising, and food manufacturing as they evolved in the United States.” Markel portrays the era as filled with disease, poor nutrition, and random death courtesy of poorly understood medical science. The time was ripe for radical new ideas and swift change. While Markel plays up the brothers’ individual achievements, he likewise examines their failures, such as Kellogg’s belief in eugenics and Will’s perfectionist obsession with his company. “The psychic costs their flaws imposed upon each other were every bit as dear as their outsized talents, imagination, and lasting effect on the world,” Markel concludes. It’s a fascinating look at two people who helped shape a pivotal time. (Aug.)

"[W]hen I was growing up, Battle Creek was this kind of mythic place for me… I’d have breakfast cereals for breakfast and, whether it was Post or Kelloggs, the address would be Battle Creek and I would stare at the cereal boxes and there wasn’t much to read on them, so you were always seeing the name Battle Creek and there was always a come-on the boxes, if you wrote to the address in Battle Creek you’d get free something or other, a souvenir of the cereal.  It would all lead back to Battle Creek.  I had no idea what that was or what that meant but it sounded like a really interesting name. Who knew what kind of battles went on there that helped to produce these cereals?"
 —Terry Gross, NPR’s Fresh Air

"A compelling yarn and a fascinating window into the genesis of both modern medicine and management . . . a vivid portrait of the brothers and their era.”
—Jonathan A. Knee, New York Times “DealBook” column
 
“A brilliant (and big!) new biography of the two brothers, The Kelloggs. . .There’s no better midsummer’s read, in my mind, than a biography or narrative big enough to act as a doorstop. The Kelloggs offers even more. I haven’t even been able to scratch the surface of it all here. One could devote an entire review to the large swaths of the book on Kellogg’s, the company, alone—which I may have done had I not written so many words before that tale begins, on page 236! The Kelloggs is a brilliant biography, a medical and industrial (even natural and environmental) history, a great lesson in entrepreneurship, leadership, and management, and a great family drama all rolled into one.”
—Editor's Choice, Dylan Schleicher, 800 CEO 
 
“Markel does an extraordinary job covering the many complex dimensions of this story . . . a rich and satisfying account of the lives, work and enmity of two warring brothers and of a pivotal epoch in American history."
—Katherine A. Powers , Newsday
 
“Insightful and entertaining . . . A revealing window into America as it evolved from the Civil War to World War II"
—The National Book Review
 
“Markel's new book vividly recounts the contentious story of two men behind the early 20th century's revolution in ready-to-eat foods.  …  a mix of a Horatio Alger success story and a cautionary fable about blind egos sabotaging their own best efforts. . . [the book is] lively throughout as it delivers a tale both personal in its intensity and grand in its scope.”
—Michael Upchurch,  Chicago Tribune
 
"This incredible story by itself would be sufficient for a book. Markel, however, goes much further . . .an engrossing adventure about the rise of Midwest America from the pioneering days of the Kellogg family to World War II with all of its failures and successes. Medicine, breakfast foods, and the Seventh Day Adventist Church are part of the story."
—Robert S. Davis, New York Journal of Books
 
"Howard Markel's riveting, deeply researched new book covers vast territory: the saga of the squabbling Kellogg brothers ("magnificent showmen, resolute empire builders, and unwavering visionaries"), their mass-branding of breakfast cereals, their concept of "wellness", and their enormous influence on the diet of millions of Americans.  This book arrives at a pivotal moment in our own history when mass-marketing, showmanship, and the media deserve particularly deep study.  Markel's incandescent scholarship and his incisive analysis shine through this book.  The Kelloggs can certainly be read as a biography of two visionaries (and their extended families), but it also deserves to be read as a case study by generations of future readers.  
—Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
 
 
“In this illuminating account, medical historian Markel chronicles the long-running animosity between Michigan brothers John and Will Kellogg, “the Cain and Abel of America’s heartland” . . . Readers will never look at corn flakes or Post Toasties (created by C.W. Post, who stole the Kelloggs’ recipes) in quite the same way again.”
—BookPage
 
“A turbulent tale . . . Markel’s amazing amalgamation of biography and history, covering the pursuit of health in late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America, industrialism, and the invention of cold cereals is adorned with fetching photographs and illustrations. Sibling rivalry has rarely been so dastardly and delectable.”
—Tony Miksanek, Booklist (starred review)
 
“The story of the Kellogg Brothers is the story of innovation, of determination, and the creation of a giant industry as American business came of age just prior to the Second World War.  It is a tale of grit, controversy, faith and the emergence of the ‘wellness’ movement. In the hands of Markel, a trained historian, physician, seasoned writer and chronicler of America, this tale comes alive. A fabulous read.”
—Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone
 
“Delightful . . . Markel refreshingly resists the temptation—not resisted by films and novels—to deliver caricatures . . . A superb warts-and-all account of two men whose lives help illuminate the rise of health promotion and the modern food industry.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
 
“A rollicking tale of family intrigue and inventiveness. This full exegesis of the Kelloggs’ unseemly personalities makes for a riveting read.”
—Andrew Solomon, author of Far and Away
 
“Howard Markel’s The Kelloggs recounts the incredible exploits of the Kellogg Brothers—John and Will—who turned nineteenth-century medicine upside down for the better. Markel does a marvelous job recounting the birth of the Kellogg cereal empire and the Battle Creek sanitarium. An amazing American story!”
—Douglas Brinkley, author of Rightful Heritage

06/15/2017
Markel (history of medicine, Univ. of Michigan) contends that John Kellogg (1852–1943) is often unjustly remembered as a flamboyant quack, racist, and eugenicist, while his younger brother Will (1860-1951) is immortalized for his innovative development, production, and marketing of cold breakfast cereals. Markel demonstrates that John deserves more recognition for his contributions to modern medicine, having radically promoted the benefits of antiseptic surgery, probiotics, fiber, portion control, hydration, ergonomics, exercise, and adequate sleep. An internationally celebrated physician, writer, and lecturer, John founded the renowned Battle Creek Sanitarium in 1876 in his crusade to improve physical and spiritual wellness with "biologic living." Will dutifully supervised almost every aspect of the "San's" operation—even collaborating in the revolutionary creation of flaked cereal products—until he could no longer tolerate John's domineering and belittling. In 1906, Will used his enterprising managerial skills and relentless perfectionism to create what became the Kellogg Company. Markel focuses on the brothers' development, characters, and demons, revealing how their mutual brilliance and drive, along with their competitiveness and resentfulness, bred remarkable achievements but destroyed their relationships. VERDICT General readers will value exploring the motivation and legacies of these accomplished yet flawed figures. [See Prepub Alert, 2/27/17.]—Margaret Kappanadze, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

★ 2017-05-01
A dual biography of the highly successful Kellogg brothers, who "fought, litigated, and plotted against one another with a passion more akin to grand opera than the kinship of brothers."One brother invented Corn Flakes, and the other was the most famous doctor of his time. They hated each other. Readers who suspect their lives might provide entertainment will not be disappointed by this delightful biography by Markel (History of Medicine/Univ. of Michigan; An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine, 2011, etc.). In 1876, physician John Harvey Kellogg (1853-1943) took charge of a small Battle Creek sanitarium that followed Seventh-Day Adventist principles of vegetarianism and abstinence from tobacco and alcohol. A charismatic promoter and author, he vastly expanded the sanitarium and became a world-famous media doctor. His advice represented a vast improvement over 19th-century practices of infrequent bathing, excessive use of alcohol, and a diet heavy on meat, fat, and sugar. He was prescient in advocating exercise, clean water, stress reduction, and plenty of sleep but also relentless enemas, as little sex as possible, and absolutely no masturbation. No businessman, John hired his brother Will Keith Kellogg (1860-1951) to manage the enterprise, rewarding his efficiency with low pay and no respect. It was only in 1906 that 46-year-old Will escaped, launched the Kellogg Company, and made a fortune. John responded with more than a decade of lawsuits and a lifetime of sniping. Markel refreshingly resists the temptation—not resisted by films and novels—to deliver caricatures. Embracing scientific medicine, John was a skilled, respected surgeon who was charitable and uninterested in riches. Will was a brilliant entrepreneur, a considerate boss, and founder of a world-class humanitarian foundation. The author effectively shows the brothers' "remarkable success was mutually dependent if not outright synergistic." A superb warts-and-all account of two men whose lives help illuminate the rise of health promotion and the modern food industry.