Salt: A World History (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781639738625)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A must-have for any serious cook or foodie." -ANTHONY BOURDAIN
"This is a "wow!" book: roving, startling, engaging." -Washington Post

A Mark Kurlansky fan favorite: The unlikely history of the world through a grain of salt-now with a new foreword by NYT bestselling author Simon Winchester.

Homer called salt a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. Today we take it for granted: a common, inexpensive substance that seasons food or clears ice from roads. But as Mark Kurlansky relates in his now-classic book, salt-the only rock we eat-has shaped civilization from the very beginning.

Throughout history, salt has been so valuable that it has served as currency, and its ability to preserve and sustain life made it a common religious symbol. Demand for salt established the world's earliest trade routes; salt making inspired ingenuity from the creation of natural gas furnaces in ancient China to new drilling techniques that led to the age of petroleum. All the while, salt has shaped food history by way of cod, cheese, olives, and nearly everything in our grocery stores today.

Mark Kurlansky's beloved Salt is a kaleidoscope of history that blends economic, political, religious, and culinary records into a rich tale. Returning to this modern classic, we're reminded anew of this beloved rock's glittering role in the history of humankind.

Author: Mark Kurlansky
ISBN-10: 1639738622
ISBN-13: 9781639738625
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Language: English
Published: 10/20/2026
Pages: 496
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 1.00h x 1.00w x 1.00d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 9.7
Point Value: 23
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 109029 / Salt: A World History