A review by lambsears
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

4.0

I loved this seriously well researched look at this vital commodity. I had no idea of the extent to which the need for this condiment had shaped world history. We take this cheap necessity for granted and as a child of a wide, brown land which is surrounded by salt and blessed with plenty of sunshine to make gathering it a relatively simple affair, it had never occurred to me that other countries wouldn't get theirs in much the same way. In the light of this, the facts about salt mining came as something of a surprise to me and sent me scurrying to Google looking for images of salt mines.
Kurlansky writes engagingly and authoritatively and how he managed to fit most of civilised history into just one book is impressive. A must-read for any serious foodie.