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hirvimaki's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating look at how salt has shaped our world. Kurlansky has a gift for storytelling.
karrama's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting from an historical perspective, but difficult after the first hundred pages to imagine a world where SALT was the primary reason for wars, etc. At one point the author jokes that salt wasn't the only reason that these things happen, but that the Visigoths wouldn't have been so well positioned if not for the salt/smoked ham.
ellosippo's review against another edition
3.5
I thought it was really good, but it troubled me greatly that one of the “fun facts” in this book can’t be varied elsewhere. To me this calls into question the entire work. There’s a passage about the origin of the seven seas that is nowhere else to be found on the internet but is nonetheless stated as fact.
honnari_hannya's review against another edition
3.0
One of my favorite nonfiction genres is object histories (is this a thing? I want to say they are, maybe material histories is a better term?), and I think Salt was a very successful book for what it aimed to do. It had a interesting take on the political and socioeconomical significance of salt, both in the lives of the upper and lower classes of society.
This is also one of the few history books I've read this year that makes a genuine effort to broaden its historical scope. Often, when books say they are giving a "world history," we get a few abbreviated pages on non-white countries and chapters upon chapters on Europe/the United States. This book still heavily focused on those two geographic areas, but we did get chapters on various Asian countries that I found the most fascinating. Would have loved a tighter focus on sub-Saharan Africa in order to truly call it a global perspective, but overall achieved its aims better than most.
I will say that there are a lot of recipes in this book. Maybe too many? Kurlansky should've probably just put some of them in an appendix.
This is also one of the few history books I've read this year that makes a genuine effort to broaden its historical scope. Often, when books say they are giving a "world history," we get a few abbreviated pages on non-white countries and chapters upon chapters on Europe/the United States. This book still heavily focused on those two geographic areas, but we did get chapters on various Asian countries that I found the most fascinating. Would have loved a tighter focus on sub-Saharan Africa in order to truly call it a global perspective, but overall achieved its aims better than most.
I will say that there are a lot of recipes in this book. Maybe too many? Kurlansky should've probably just put some of them in an appendix.