A beautifully illustrated pocket history of American candy in its heyday.

Whether classics like Hershey's, Mars and M&Ms or trend-setters like PEZ and Atomic Fireballs, candy has a special place in the hearts and memories of most Americans, who to this day consume more than 600 billion pounds of it each year.

In this colorful illustrated guide, Darlene Lacey looks at candy in America from a variety of angles, examining everything from chocolate to fruity sweets and from the simply packaged basics to gaudy product tie-ins. She examines the classic brands of the late twentieth century and what they mean, guiding us on a mouth-watering, sugar-fueled trip down a memory lane filled with signposts like Bazooka, Clark, Necco and Tootsie Roll.

Darlene Lacey began collecting candy wrappers in the 1970s. The goal of her collection was to create the Candy Wrapper Museum, where wrappers could be enjoyed as art, nostalgia, and humor. Over the decades, thousands of pieces were collected for the museum, and it is now one of the most complete and significant collections of American candy (www.candywrappermuseum.co.uk). It has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors and has been featured in such media as the Food Network's 'Unwrapped', the Chicago Tribune, Smithsonian Magazine, and LA Beat among others.

A freelance writer, editor, and script adaptor, Lacey also writes about candy and culture in a column for thelosangelesbeat.com.