Book Review: A History of the World in six Glasses
By: nikky Howard
Submitted: 2010-07-09 21:51:25 | Word Count: 1242
World History may be a long and complex topic. Though many accomplished authors like Bill Bryson and H. G. Wells have attempted to condense history into a single book, terribly few have succeeded. There is just too much of it. Makes an attempt to boil down the last ten,000 years have resulted in either superficial books with very very little depth, or great textbook like tombs too inaccessible for the casual reader.
Happily, A History of the World in vi Glasses by Tom Standage succeeds where others have failed. Standage's book does this by sacrificing the breadth of each attainable topic for an spectacular depth and focus. Rather than attempting to sum up the entire history of man, this book spotlights one topic, in this case beverages, and then takes the reader on a journey through time to work out how his topic interweaves the past. Standage is a delightful writer, mixing his lightweight hearted style with exceptional historical savvy not just on the topic of drinks, however throughout.
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Despite my currently positive opinion of this book, I have to confess that after I 1st picked up A History of the World in six Glasses, I didn't expect to relish it. Not solely am I skeptical of any book claiming to sum up the antiquity of man in three hundred pages or less, but I actually don't drink any of the six beverages this book discusses. As such, learning the history of those drinks didn't sound immediately appealing. However, what I quickly learned is that this book is not a history of half dozen drinks, however rather simply because the title states, a history of the globe, told through the story of half-dozen drinks. As the book points out within the introduction, second only to air, liquid is the foremost important substance to man's survival. The availability of water and different drinking sources have "constrained and guided humankind's progress" and "have continued to form human history". Throughout time, beverages have done a lot of than quenched our thirst; they need been used as currencies, medicines, and in religious rites. They have served as symbols of wealth and power, in addition to tools to appease the poor and downtrodden.
A History of the World in six Glasses is attenuated into six sections, one for every drink, the primary of which is beer. Man's initial civilizations where founded on surplus cereal production, a lot of of which was brewed. Ancient day beers were high in vitamin B, a vitamin previously only obtained through meat. This allowed the population to focus their nutrition efforts a lot of and more on cereals, effectively ushering within the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers. Additionally, as a result of early beers were boiled (to convert additional starch into sugars), the beer was significantly safer to drink than water. This vital improvement in lifestyle "freed a tiny fraction of the population from the need to work in the fields, and made potential the emergence of specialist priest, directors, scribes, and craftsmen." Not solely did beer nourish man's initial civilizations, however in many ways that, created them entirely possible.
Wine, the following beverage in the book, played a major role in the flourishing Greek and Roman cultures. As wine didn't originate from the Mediterranean, the Greek's need for this drink detached vast seaborne trade, that unfold their philosophy, politics, science and literature way and wide, and still underpins fashionable Western thought. A History of the World in vi Glasses points out how these advancements originated and grew at formal Greek drinking parties, referred to as symposia. The Romans, who absorbed abundant of Greek culture, continued the sturdy use of wine. As the book notes, if you trace the wine drinking areas of the globe on a map, you will notice you've got traced the Roman empire at its height.
After a thousand years of hibernation, Western civilization was woke up by the rediscovery of ancient information, long safeguarded in the Arab world. However, in an attempt to circumvent this Arab monopoly, European monarchs launched huge fleets into the sea. This age of exploration was greatly enhanced by the Arab information of distillation, which made a full new vary of drinks possible. A History of the World in vi Glasses describes how these condensed sorts of alcohol (particularly Brandy, Whiskey and Rum) were so fashionable, especially within the new American colonies, that "they played a key role within the institution of the United States."
The fourth beverage presented during this book is coffee. Because of its sharpening impact on the mind, occasional quickly became the drink of intellect and industry. Replacing taverns as the subtle meeting place, the coffeehouse "led to the institution of scientific societies and monetary institutions, the founding of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought, significantly in France." A History of the World in vi Glasses goes on to recount the intricate effect coffeehouses had on Victorian culture, going therefore way on dedicate a complete chapter to what the book calls "The Coffeehouse Internet".
Even though the inception of tea date back several thousands of years, it didn't take hold upon western culture until the mid-seventeenth century. Once established as England's national drink, the importing of tea from initial China and then India led to trade and industrialization on an unprecedented scale. A History of the World in six Glasses describes the immense power of the British East India Company, which "generated additional revenue than the British government and dominated over so much more people", wielding additional power than any alternative corporation in history. This imbalance of power had an huge, far-reaching result on British foreign policy, and ultimately contributed to the independence of the United States.
Like most of the drinks mentioned in A History of the World in half-dozen Glasses, Coca-Cola was originally devised as a medical drink. More than any different product, Coca-Cola has stood because the image of America's "vibrant consumer capitalism". Instead of shrink at the challenge, Coca-Cola took full advantage of the difficult times it found itself in, gaining ground through the depression, and then traveling alongside our soldiers into WWII, turning into a world phenomenon. Per the book, Coca-Cola still accounts for "around thirty percent of all liquid consumption" today.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses makes it clear that the history of mankind is a history of our consumption. Whether or not we are drinking "liquid bread" in Mesopotamia, pondering revolution in a Coffeehouse in Paris, or throwing tea leafs into the ocean in Boston, these drinks have had a profound impact on who we tend to are. As Standage says in the introduction to his book "They survive in our homes today as living reminders of bygone eras, fluid testaments to the forces that shaped the trendy world. Uncover their origins, and you'll never examine your favorite drink in quite the same approach again." I highly recommend this book to anyone thirsty for information about the world around them... or perhaps if they are simply thirsty for a smart drink.
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