Salt: A World History - Mark Kurlansky

Written by Mark Kurlansky
Read by Scott Brick
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Phoenix Books, Inc.
Release date: February 6, 2007
Duration: 13:49:04

Mark Kurlansky, the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World, here 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, Kurlansky’s kaleidoscopic history is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.

So much of our human body is made up of salt that we’d be dead without it. The fine balance of nature, the trade of salt as currency of many nations and empires, the theme of a popular Shakespearean play…

From its single origin, to the other discoveries made because of it, fascinating tales of salt and the people who have been involved with it through the age are interwoven here. Fifteen recipes are included that will meet with every taste. Mark Kurlansky has produced a kaleidoscope of history, a multi-layered masterpiece that blends economic, scientific, political, and religious and culinary records into a rich and memorable tale. “Kurlansky continues to prove himself remarkably adept at taking a most unlikely candidate and telling its tale with epic grandeur… With Salt, Kurlansky adds his name to this list, rising splendidly to the challenge of showings us the world that can be found in a mere grain of salt”.