Salt: A World History
“Kurlansky finds the world in a grain of salt.” - New York Times Book Review
An unlikely world history from the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World
Best-selling author Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.
An unlikely world history from the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World
Best-selling author Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.
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Community Reviews
Pretty boring, fairly disorganized, but occasionally has some interesting information. I love fish eggs of any kind so I kind of enjoyed that (very short) part in particular. If the apocalypse hits this book would probably be handy since we'll have to figure out how to obtain salt and keep food fresh all on our own. ;)
While full of interesting little facts, reading it leaves one feeling a bit unsatisfied with the book as a whole. Somehow it seems that there is, or should be, a bit more depth to some of the fact-ulites that would make for a more satisfying read. In the end, it comes across like having consumed a salty bag of chips, rather than a well-seasoned steak.
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