The eponymous chocolatier’s life begins with gusto, as he is seen peering mournfully at a window full of sweet treats. Born to a lower-income family, “Milton Hershey probably never tasted chocolate as a child.” It was working with confections and learning to make ice cream, lollipops, and taffy that turned him on to the idea of candy as a career. Unfortunately, his businesses flopped three times in a row, leading him to the enterprising choice of trying his hand with caramels. That venture succeeded, but after witnessing German chocolate-making machines at the Chicago’s World’s Fair, he was hooked. “The caramel business is a fad. But chocolate is something we will always have.” Even so, the book shows Hershey’s repeated failures, experiments, tests, trials, and, finally, success. His philanthropic pursuits, such as establishing a school for orphaned boys, are touched upon at the end. What sticks out, however, is the sheer amount of trying and failing that led to his ultimate triumph. Salerno, no stranger to biographical portraits of the past, makes the book as visually sweet and delicious as a chocolate bar itself. While it is nearly impossible to write a biography of Hershey without sounding like an advertisement, this particular icon’s tale is already a familiar name to most. Background characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
