katiewilkins186

Writing a world history organized by the way everything connects back to salt was a surprisingly brilliant idea. Because salt was a strategic concern in the organization of many countries and their wars, it’s possible to touch on many of the most interesting periods in history by talking about salt. This could very easily have led to a disorganized book, but each chapter focused on a specific country and the book generally moves forward in time. Together, that was enough to give the book a cohesive feel.

The real strength of this book was the combination of a broad historical overview of the role salt played in shaping society with some extremely interesting anecdotes. It made for an entertaining and educational read. It also helped that the author has a very engaging tone. The biggest weakness of this book was the author’s fondness for discussing the cod trade and for sharing exact recipes in the original old English. Despite the author’s best attempts to be interesting, these sections were inevitably dry and/or hard to follow.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and learned so many fun facts I had a hard time choosing one to share at the beginning of the review. It is occasionally dry, but the recipes are easily skimmable and the majority of the book is well worth a read.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.