Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

I picked up this book upon recommendation from a former teacher of mine, (I was really shocked--considering it was Ms. Booth I was expecting something with lots of bright colors and monosyllabic words,) and ended up discovering one of the most interesting books on history I've ever read.

Seeing Anthony Bourdain's praise on the cover also convinced me to read this nearly 450-page heffer. I really love Anthony Bourdain. He's so sexy in that 45-year old bad-ass foodie gourmaster sorta way.

Here's what the back cover told me:

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.

The subject seems almost too simple to base a book on mankind's history around, and yet Mark Kurlansky does so in a thorough and intriguing manner. With subtle injections of humor and a decent amount of maps and pictures, Salt entertains and informs readers about the numerous contributions that those good ol' sodium crystals have had on the shaping of civilization.

Some facts I learned that were particularly interesting:

• The first great Roman road, the Via Salaria, was established as a highway for importing salt to Rome
• Purple is considered the color of royalty because the only way to obtain purple dye in the ancient times was by a complex extraction process from a rare Meditteranean mollusk
• Basque and Portugese fishermen reached North America before any explorers, but kept their discovery quiet so that competing fleets of fishermen wouldn't know the location of all the cod and herring these succesful fishers caught
• In recent years, Swedes attempted to export a classic Swedish delicacy, surstromming, fermented fish similar to anchovies, to the U.S., but were refused entry on grounds that it was rotten (really that's just how these little fish are eaten--rotten)
• Elaborate saltcellars were a mark of wealth in the middle ages and showed who at the table was most important by being placed next to his or her plate for the duration of the meal
• Slides first became a source of recreation after being used in German salt mines to transport miners more quickly and these men described them as "fun" (a totally unheard of thing, in the field of salt mining!)
• Any English town whose name ends in "-wich" was once a salt-producing town
• Ketchup was originally a fermented fish sauce made from rotten anchovies, and tomatoes were originally known as "love apples"
• All major American highways were established along paths beaten by explorers in centuries before, who were, in turn, following paths made by animals looking for salt
• The term "red herring" is derived from the times when New World hunters would leave smoked herring behind them to throw wolves off their trail

Aside from picking up all that cerebral enhancement, I was also given an immense craving for sauerkraut, pickles, salted cod, and cheese at various points throughout this book. Mmmmmm mmmm I love me that salty keeee-runch.

To fully appreciate the examples of salt's importance that Kurlansky offers up, though, you have to be willing (and able) to pay attention. If skimmed, this book becomes a list of unrelated tales that are both unmemorable and boring. The minute details and most fascinating facts are served in tiny nuggets, requiring the reader to sift the text carefully if they wish to pick up on them.

Overall I liked this book. But keep in mind that I'm an avid reader with a fervent interest in world history; for some other people this book could be hell. If you don't like books that require a little effort to stick with or find fashion and celebrities more interesting than the different methods of making worschtershire sauce, then I would say this book probably isn't for you though. But to all the other nerds out there: find this book! I think you'll like it.