Helpful Score: 2
Truly all that can be said of salt is written in these pages, however, that said it was very interesting and did hold my interest. I did learn many trivia points concerning other historical points and facts of items one would not readily attribute to salt. I would recommend reading this as a fill in while reading another book, it can be a bit much.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an absolutely fascinating history of an item that most of us take for granted without realizing its impact. It can be a bit dry in parts, but overall it's an enjoyable read.
Helpful Score: 1
A book about the history of salt sounds like it should really be marketed as a cure for insomnia, but it was actually really interesting! Living in a modern, industrialized country with many options for shipping or preserving foods, it's easy to take salt for granted and overlook it. But for most of human history, salt was a big freaking deal. Such a big deal, entire wars were fought over it and the fates of nations were determined by it (for example, the Great Wall of China and the military to keep back the Mongolians were both paid for by taxes on salt and iron). It was really cool to learn about the many different ways people have invented to harvest salt and the thousands upon thousands of uses they've found for it. I really enjoyed this book.
Helpful Score: 1
Fascinating journey through world history. You will be amazed at the importance of salt's role in world civilization. We think of it today as merely a seasoning, but its preservative and disinfectant qualities made it indispensable in days gone by. Well written.
Helpful Score: 1
Kurlansky is excellent at presenting world history from one aspect which includes all other aspects. If all history were written this way we'd all be non-fiction admirers.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is full of interesting historical notes on the culinary and other uses of salt....along with the impact of salt on the economic and social tides of many countries. The author jumps around a bit in time period and some segments of the book felt like short research papers stuck into the middle of the book. If you are interested in geography, science, culinary arts and history, you will likely enjoy this.
Helpful Score: 1
A good read--works well with Kurlansky's other two books--Basque History of the World and Cod. This one is a little more disjointed than these other two books but will hold your attention from chapter to chapter.
Having really enjoyed Mark's "Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World" I thought I would be more into this one. First, I felt it was a bit repetitive of a lot of the history in "Cod" since much of the cod industry depended on having adequate supplies of salt to preserve the fish. Second, compared to "Cod," I thought "Salt" was lacking some of the geo-political color that made cod relevant, which left me only interested in the local (American) parts of the book. Perhaps it would be better to just choose one of the two to read, instead of trying to tackle both.
I enjoyed the book overall but sometimes it feels a bit like a stream of consciousness that doesn't effectively follow a single topic, instead jumping around a lot. That said, it was an easy read and was highly informative about how salt has truly shaped human evolution and the rise and fall of civilizations around the world.
Who would have thought an author could make the story of humble salt, something everyone eats every day, interesting? Well, Mark Kurlansky tells a fascinating story of the most common preservative in the world and how it traveled the world. One thing I learned is that salt was used as a way to preserve bodies in olden times.
The Celts, like the Chinese emperors, based their economies on iron and salt. They traversed by water, to carry the heavy items around to their trading partners.
I thought the part about the Basques and the Vikings to be fascinating reading. I had no idea they even interacted with each other. Another thumbnail sketch I thought fascinating was about anchovies and salt. I doubt I've ever eaten an anchovy but learned they have a long and illustrious history in the Mediterranean.
Another juicy bit is that any British town ending with 'wich' means salt was produced there at one time. Towns were created near where salt could be collected.
During the Revolutionary War, I was amazed to hear that the American colonies released up to 10 men from military service if they were working in a salt production company in their county. That is because there was a shortage of salt; the British tried to keep salt away from the colonists as a method of getting the colonists to capitulate.
This book meanders through the ages and countries of the world with fascinating factoids and thumbnail sketches. A few of my favorites were the changing story of the Dead Sea, Mahatma Gandhi and how he broke the salt law, Birdseye and how he brought frozen foods to consumers. He also talks about how adding iodine to salt has caused problems for poorer countries and less-advanced producers of salt. This book shows how salt has had a profound influence on man and civilizations for eons. Fascinating reading.
The Celts, like the Chinese emperors, based their economies on iron and salt. They traversed by water, to carry the heavy items around to their trading partners.
I thought the part about the Basques and the Vikings to be fascinating reading. I had no idea they even interacted with each other. Another thumbnail sketch I thought fascinating was about anchovies and salt. I doubt I've ever eaten an anchovy but learned they have a long and illustrious history in the Mediterranean.
Another juicy bit is that any British town ending with 'wich' means salt was produced there at one time. Towns were created near where salt could be collected.
During the Revolutionary War, I was amazed to hear that the American colonies released up to 10 men from military service if they were working in a salt production company in their county. That is because there was a shortage of salt; the British tried to keep salt away from the colonists as a method of getting the colonists to capitulate.
This book meanders through the ages and countries of the world with fascinating factoids and thumbnail sketches. A few of my favorites were the changing story of the Dead Sea, Mahatma Gandhi and how he broke the salt law, Birdseye and how he brought frozen foods to consumers. He also talks about how adding iodine to salt has caused problems for poorer countries and less-advanced producers of salt. This book shows how salt has had a profound influence on man and civilizations for eons. Fascinating reading.
This was a thoroughly informative book on salt and its impact on world history. I learned many new things including the fact that the word stem "-wich" as in Norwich means salt works and that there's a rock salt mine 1,200 feet below Detroit.
A little scattered, but an interesting history of a commodity we all know and some of us love.
I enjoyed knowing the history of salt and the entertainment value was definitely there as well.
fascinating history of the only rock we eat. makes you think!
By the title, you might think this is a pretty dull book, but it is not. I found it very fascinating to learn the history of salt from thousands of years B.C. to modern day, the lengths to which people would go to obtain it, and the methods ancient peoples invented and used. The applications discovered during the Industrial Age, along with new compounds based on salt, were amazing. The research was in depth and extensive. Easy to read, but perhaps not all in one setting, it is best broken down into small segments in order to savor the information in small doses, the way we need to do when eating salt. :-) Highly recommend if you enjoy history!
Did you know salt makes the world go round? Wars have been fought over it. It might even be said salt is the foundation of civilization. I learned so much from this book.
Just as an example:
The book constantly hit me with amazing facts. For example, what images arise when you think of Detroit? Okay, so it's not automotive plants anymore. But from now on I'll think of salt. Why? Well, Cargill operates a salt mine 1,200 feet below Detroit. It covers more than 1,400 underground acres and has 50 miles of roads.
But this somewhat pales in comparison with the salt mine under Avery Island in Louisiana. I've been there. It's the home of the McIIHenny and Avery Tabasco factory. The day I went, I had congestion from a cold. I walked into the Tabasco production area and my head cleared instantly! I kid you not. They should package that air and sell it as an over-the-counter cold relief. The island sits on a salt dome thought to be 40,000 feet deep. Cargill also mines that salt dome. The mine is dug in rooms 60 x 100 feet with 28 foot ceilings. The mine is currently 1,600 feet deep.
Most of the salt in the above mines is used to de-ice America's roads.
Just as an example:
The book constantly hit me with amazing facts. For example, what images arise when you think of Detroit? Okay, so it's not automotive plants anymore. But from now on I'll think of salt. Why? Well, Cargill operates a salt mine 1,200 feet below Detroit. It covers more than 1,400 underground acres and has 50 miles of roads.
But this somewhat pales in comparison with the salt mine under Avery Island in Louisiana. I've been there. It's the home of the McIIHenny and Avery Tabasco factory. The day I went, I had congestion from a cold. I walked into the Tabasco production area and my head cleared instantly! I kid you not. They should package that air and sell it as an over-the-counter cold relief. The island sits on a salt dome thought to be 40,000 feet deep. Cargill also mines that salt dome. The mine is dug in rooms 60 x 100 feet with 28 foot ceilings. The mine is currently 1,600 feet deep.
Most of the salt in the above mines is used to de-ice America's roads.
Lots of interesting factiods, but it's rambling at best and at worst, is ... well, rambling.
Delightful account of salt in history as both food and money.
