Salt : a world history / Mark Kurlansky.
Material type: TextPublication details: New York : Penguin Books, 2003.Description: x, 484 p. : ill., maps ; 20 cmISBN:- 0142001619 (pbk.)
- 9780142001615 (pbk.)
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Notes | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book | Dr. James Carlson Library | NonFiction | 553.632 K96 | Available | front page stuck to cover 9/3/19 | 33111006551812 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"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.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 453-465) and index.
pt. 1. A discourse on salt, cadavers, and pungent sources. A mandate of salt -- Fish, fowl, and pharaohs -- Saltmen hard as codfish -- Salt's salad days -- Salting it away in the Adriatic -- Two ports and the prosciutto in between -- pt. 2. The glow of herring and the scent of conquest. Friday's salt -- A Nordic dream -- A well-salted hexagon -- The Hapsburg pickle -- The leaving of Liverpool -- American salt wars -- Salt and independence -- Liberté, egalité, tax breaks -- Preserving independence -- The war between the salts -- Red salt -- pt. 3. Sodium's perfect marriage. The odium of sodium -- The mythology of geology -- The soil never sets on ... -- Salt and the great soul -- Not looking back -- The last salt days of Zigong -- Ma, la, and Mao -- More salt than fish -- Big salt, little salt.
Explores the role of salt in shaping history, discussing how one of the world's most sought-after commodities has influenced economics, science, politics, religion, and eating customs.