Salt: A World History

An unlikely world history from the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World In his fifth work of nonfiction, Mark Kurlansky 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, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece. Mark Kurlansky is the New York Times bestselling author of Cod, Salt, Paper, The Basque History of the World, 1968, The Big Oyster, International Night, The Eastern Stars, A Continent of Islands, and The White Man in the Tree and Other Stories. He received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Nonviolence, Bon Appetit’s Food Writer of the Year Award, the James Beard Award, and the Glenfiddich Award. Salt was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. He spent ten years as Caribbean correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. He lives in New York City. www.markkurlansky.com. Salt: A World HistoryIntroduction: The Rock Part One A Discourse on Salt, Cadavers, and Pungent Sauces Chapter One: A Mandate of Salt Chapter Two: Fish, Fowl, and Pharoahs Chapter Three: Saltmen Hard as Codfish Chapter Four: Salt’s Salad Days Chapter Five: Salting It Away in the Adriatic Chapter Six: Two Ports and the Prosciutto in Between Part Two The Glow of Herring and the Scent of Conquest Chapter Seven: Friday’s Salt Chapter Eight: A Nordic Dream Chapter Nine: A Well-Salted Hexagon Chapter Ten: The Hapsburg Pickle Chapter Eleven: The Leaving of Liverpool Chapter Twelve: American Salt Wars Chapter Thirteen: Salt and Independence Chapter Fourteen: Libert, Egalit, Tax Breaks Chapter Fifteen: Preserving Independence Chapter Sixteen: The War Between the Salts Chapter Seventeen: Red Salt Part Three Sodium’s Perfect Marriage Chapter Eighteen: The Odium of Sodium Chapter Nineteen: The Mythology of Geology Chapter Twenty: The Soil Never Sets On . . . Chapter Twenty-One: Salt and the Great Soul Chapter Twenty-Two: Not Looking Back Chapter Twenty-Three: The Last Salt Days of Zigong Chapter Twenty-Four: Ma, La, and Mao Chapter Twenty-Five: More Salt than Fish Chapter Twenty-Six: Big Salt, Little Salt Acknowledgments Bibliography Index