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Susan Benjamin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Susan Benjamin has researched communications and the cultural and political history of food for almost 40 years. She is founder of True Treats, the nation's only research-based candy and confection store, which was listed by Food Network magazine, delish.com and Holiday Lettings, Trip Advisor's international arm, as one of the nation's top 50 “Sweet Spots.”[1] A former communications strategist and college professor, she participated in a White House initiative under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and has written nine books[2] on related subjects, and published in legal journals, newspapers and online publications.

Education

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Susan studied philosophy and writing at Boston University and Bennington College and received her master's degree in Writing where she worked with her mentor, C.Michael Curtis, former senior editor of The Atlantic. As a college professor and consultant, she mentored PhDs at Harvard and MIT, and taught at Emerson College and in the academics department of Berklee College of Music.

Works

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Ms. Benjamin founded True Treats in 2010. Benjamin's 10th book, Sweet as Sin: The Unwrapped Story of How Candy Became America’s Pleasure, (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) covers North America's history of candies and confections. Benjamin describes these candy stories as rich and deep, from a national, political, and human rights level.[3] It also made the Smithsonian's "Best of Books about Food" for 2016.[4] More recently, she has discussed the history of candy and confections on National Public Radio,[5] Voice of America, ABC News Hour Radio,[6] CNBC,[7] The History Channel[8] and many more. Articles featuring Ms. Benjamin have appeared in such places as Salon.com,[9] the Huffington Post,[10] Vice/Munchies.com, the Arizona Republic,[11] the Sacramento Bee,[12] Woman’s Day[13] and Bon Appetit, among many others. Ms. Benjamin gives book signings and presentations at museums, historical societies and other venues throughout the nation, including the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the Deadwood Museum in South Dakota,[14] and the Mount Vernon Gardens and Hotel,[15] where the New York Times cited her talk as one of the top five events of the weekend.

References

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  1. ^ Stortstrom, Mary. "True Treats named the No. 1 candy store in West Virginia". The Journal. The Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  2. ^ Benjamin, Susan. "Susan Benjamin Author Page". amazon. amazon. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  3. ^ "The sweet lowdown — our enduring obsession with candy | Toronto Star". thestar.com. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  4. ^ Paley, Rachel. "The Best Books about Food of 2016". Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  5. ^ Benjamin, Susan. "Cityscape: Sweet as Sin". wfuv.org. wfuv.org. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  6. ^ Benjamin, Susan. "ABC News Hour Radio". Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  7. ^ How Wrigley's Dominated The World Of Chewing Gum, retrieved 2022-03-01
  8. ^ "The Chocolate Rush | HISTORY". play.history.com. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  9. ^ Benjamin, Susan. "Secrets of the penny candy jar: From Tootsie Rolls to Necco wafers, the real story behind every nostalgic treat". Salon.com. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Why Hershey's Chocolate Tastes Like ... Well, Vomit". HuffPost. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  11. ^ Fernau, Karen. "Food of love: Aphrodisiacs for Valentines Day". azcentral. azcentral. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  12. ^ Pierleoni, Allen. "Cool candy assortment is centuries old". sacbee. sacbee. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  13. ^ Benjamin, Susan. "Womens Day". truetreatscandy. truetreatscandy. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  14. ^ Benjamin, Susan. "Sweet as Sin discussion and Candy Tasting". South Dakota Magazine. South Dakota Magazine. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  15. ^ Laura. "Historic Candy Tasting and Book Signing". Bygonenyc. Bygonenyc. Retrieved 26 December 2017.