What a book! Part science, part history, part economics, part cookbook. Absolutely fascinating through and through!

Since reading A History of the World in Six Glasses I have been intrigued by the premise of food history, having never known that such a thing existed prior. I had heard of Kurlansky’s works when reading A Short History of the World and knew I had to read this one; however I was hoping to start with Cod, but my library wasn’t cooperating with me. So, I started with Salt.

Salt follows how this precious commodity changed or affected the course of history. I found this interesting because I had never really thought about how a seemingly simple spice could affect history. I actually found myself able to apply some of the logic imparted in this book within my Roman Empire class this semester because the author had spent a decent amount of time on the Roman use of a salt fish sauce known as garum and knowledge about salt even made its way into my paper on Roman roads! There were chapters on the evolution of salt mining, preserving, and how salt affected the American Civil War.

While I really appreciated the information provided in this book, I didn’t really love the format. It sort of follows the historical timeline, but it was a little bit all over the place. I think that this issue was only exacerbated by the audio production.

Overall, if you are interested in food history, this is probably a book you should read. If you are not that interested in food history, you might decide to skip this one as the road is a little long and, at times, tedious.

While I think this book was a little difficult to listen to and would have been better enjoyed in print, the narration was just middling. Nothing special to remember it by or really comment on.

This review was previously posted @ The Maiden's Court.

I like it. Occasionally funny and full of curious little bits of knowledge. Tends to be over-detailed for my taste. I'd like a condensed version of about 1/3 the length.

holy crap i now know more than ever about salt. at first, it was mildly interesting. like i had no idea that there were so many wars just for salt. or that people used it as a currency. or that there are sooooo many different types of salt.

this could've all been covered in a one pager bathroom book. i didn't need the endless recipes that use salt for shit i'll never, ever make. and i didn't need this book in my life. i'm glad it's over.

Good. I debated between 3 and 4. There were parts, though, where I was really bored. But, for the most part, this book was full of great information. I'm just not sure the flow was as good as it could/should have been!

Lots of great chapters and then lots of slower, less interesting chapters. I learned a lot about salt!

This was pretty interesting, but like most nonfiction, just didn't capture my attention. I may go back to it again someday...

Kinda boring, wouldn't recommend for anyone except a history nut.