Salt

DISCOVER THE VIRAL SENSATION An indispensable yet illuminating history of the world, told through its most commonly mined, traded and consumed product: Salt Homer called it a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. Salt has shaped civilisation from the beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over salt and, while salt taxes secured empires across Europe and Asia, they have also inspired revolution - Gandhi's salt march in 1930 was a pivotal act in his campaign to overthrow British rule in India. From the rural Sichuan province where the last home-made soy sauce is produced, to the Cheshire brine springs that supplied salt around the globe, Mark Kurlansky has produced a kaleidoscope of world history, a multi-layered masterpiece that blends political, commercial, scientific, religious and culinary records into a rich and memorable tale. 'Refreshing and invigorating, full of fascinating facts' Independent on Sunday 'History, reportage, travel writing, wisdom and recipes - entertaining and enlightening... The richness of Kurlansky's book would be hard to exaggerate' Sunday Times

Mark Kurlansky