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Book Review: A History of the world in 6 glasses
World History is a long and complex topic. Although many well-known authors such as Bill Bryson and HG Wells have tried to condense the story into one book, very few have succeeded. Simply too much of it. Attempts are reduced to the last 10,000 years have resulted in books surface with very little depth, or very textbook like tombs too inaccessible to the casual reader.
Luckily, A history of the world in 6 glasses by Tom Standage succeeds where others have failed. Standage book does this by sacrificing the breadth of all possible topics for an impressive depth and focus. Instead of to summarize the entire history of man, this book focuses on one theme, in this case, drinks, and then takes the reader on a journey back in time to see how its theme weaves past. Standage is a wonderful writer, mixing his cheerful style with exceptional historical significance not only in the subject of drinks, but everywhere.
Despite positive now, I believe this book, I must confess that when first took a world history in 6 Glasses, not expecting to enjoy it. Not I'm just skeptical of any book claiming to summarize the antiquity of man in 300 pages or less, but I do not drink any of the 6 beverages analyzed in this book. As such, learning the history of these drinks did not sound immediately appealing. However, what I quickly learned is that this book is not a story of 6 beverages, but rather as the title indicates, a world history, told through the story of 6 drinks. As the book noted in the introduction, second only the air, the fluid is the substance more vital to human survival. The availability of drinking water and other sources have "limited progress of mankind and guided "and" have continued to shape human history. "Over time, the drinks have only quenches our thirst, but have been used as currencies, medicines, and religious rites. They have served as symbols of wealth and power as well as tools to appease the poor and oppressed.
A history of the world in 6 glasses is divided into six sections, one for each drink, the first of which is beer. early civilizations of the man who founded the production cereal surplus, much of which was prepared. Old beer days were rich in vitamin B, vitamin A above will only be obtained through the flesh. This allowed people to focus their efforts more and more nutrition in cereals actually advent of the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers. In addition, because early beers were boiled (to convert starch into sugars), the beer was significantly safer to drink than water. This improvement significant lifestyle "released to a small fraction of the population of the need to work in the field, and made possible the emergence of specialized priests, administrators, scribes and craftsmen. "Not only beer nurture of man's earliest civilizations, but in many ways, made it all possible.
Wine, Drink next in the book, played an important role in the Greek and Roman cultures flourishing. As the wine did not originate in the Mediterranean, the Greek, the desire of this drink was opened vast seaborne trade, which spread its philosophy, politics, science and literature up and wide, and still holds the thought modern West. A history of the world in 6 glasses out how these developments originated and grew at the formal parties drinking Greek, called symposia. The Romans, who absorbed much of Greek culture, continued heavy use of wine. As the book, if you trace the areas of the world wine consumption on a map realize that he has traced the Roman Empire at its peak.
After a thousand years of hibernation, Western civilization was awakened by the rediscovery of ancient knowledge, long safeguarded in the Arab world. However, in an attempt to circumvent the monopoly Arab, European monarchs launched massive fleets at sea. This era of exploration has been greatly improved by knowledge of the distillation Arabs, who made a new range of drinks as possible. A history of the world in June vessels described how these condensed forms of alcohol (ie brandy, whiskey and rum) were so popular, especially in the new American colonies, who "played a key role in the establishment of the United States. "
The fourth beverage presented in this book is coffee. Because the effect of sharpening the mind, coffee quickly became the drink of the intelligence and industry. Replacement of the taverns and sophisticated meeting place, cafe "led to the creation scientific societies and financial institutions, the establishment of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought, especially in France. "History World in 6 glasses to recount the intricate passes cafes effect produced in Victorian culture, even to devote an entire chapter to what the book called "Internet coffee. "
Although the start date back thousands of years tea, which did not take hold in Western culture until the mid-seventeenth century. Once established as England's national drink, the import of tea from China and then India took the first trade and industrialization on an unprecedented scale. A history of the world in 6 glasses describes the immense power of the British East India Company, which "generates more revenue than the British government and ruled over People now ", wielding more power than any other corporation in history. This imbalance of power had an enormous effect, powerful in foreign policy British and eventually contributed to the independence of the United States.
Like most of the drinks discussed in World History in 6 glasses Coca-Cola was originally conceived as a health drink. More than any other product, Coca-Cola has remained the symbol of "America's capitalism vibrant consumer. "Instead of reducing the challenge, Coca-Cola took advantage of the hard times was in, gaining ground through the depression, and then travel alongside our soldiers in World War II, becoming a worldwide phenomenon. According to the book, Coca-Cola still represents "about 30 percent of total consumption of liquids "today.
A History of the World in 6 glasses makes clear that the history of mankind is a history of our consumption. Whether drinking "liquid bread" in Mesopotamia, pondering revolution in a Paris cafe, tea leaves or throwing into the sea at Boston, these beverages have had a profound impact on who we are. As Standage says in the introduction to his book "survive in our homes today as living reminders from past eras, fluid testaments to the forces that shaped the modern world. Discover its origins, and we can never watch your favorite drink in exactly the same way again. "I recommend this book to anyone who thirsts for knowledge about the world around them … even if they are just hungry for a good drink.
About the Author
Jeff Beck is an entrepreneur and founder of several notable companies, including the Book Price Comparison website CompareBook.com. As a student of the world around him, Jeff seeks understanding through history and reasoning.
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