Synopses & Reviews
The bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses brilliantly charts how foods have transformed human culture through the ages. Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changescaused, enabled, or influenced by foodhas helped to shape and transform societies around the world.
The first civilizations were built on barley and wheat in the Near East, millet and rice in Asia, corn and potatoes in the Americas. Why farming created a strictly ordered social hierarchy in contrast to the loose egalitarianism of hunter-gatherers is, as Tom Standage reveals, as interesting as the details of the complex cultures that emerged, eventually interconnected by commerce. Trade in exotic spices in particular spawned the age of exploration and the colonization of the New World.
Foods influence over the course of history has been just as prevalent in modern times. In the late eighteenth century, Britains solution to food shortages was to industrialize and import food rather than grow it. Food helped to determine the outcome of wars: Napoleons rise and fall was intimately connected with his ability to feed his vast armies. In the twentieth century, Communist leaders employed food as an ideological weapon, resulting in the death by starvation of millions in the S oviet Union and China. And today the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development, the environment, and the adoption of new technologies.
Encompassing many fields, from genetics and archaeology to anthropology and economicsand invoking food as a special form of technologyAn Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying discourse on the sweep of human history. Tom Standage is the business editor at the Economist and the author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses, The Victorian Internet, The Turk, and The Neptune File. He has written for Wired, The New York Times, and numerous magazines and newspapers. He lives in London, England. Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changescaused, enabled, or influenced by foodhas helped to shape and transform societies around the world.
The first civilizations were built on barley and wheat in the Near East, millet and rice in Asia, corn and potatoes in the Americas. Why farming created a strictly ordered social hierarchy in contrast to the loose egalitarianism of hunter-gatherers is, as Tom Standage reveals, as interesting as the details of the complex cultures that emerged, eventually interconnected by commerce. Trade in exotic spices in particular spawned the age of exploration and the colonization of the New World.
Foods influence over the course of history has been just as prevalent in modern times. In the late eighteenth century, Britains solution to food shortages was to industrialize and import food rather than grow it. Food helped to determine the outcome of wars: Napoleons rise and fall was intimately connected with his ability to feed his vast armies. In the twentieth century, Communist leaders employed food as an ideological weapon, resulting in the death by starvation of millions in the Soviet Union and China. And today the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development, the environment, and the adoption of new technologies.
Encompassing many fields, from genetics and archaeology to anthropology and economicsand invoking food as a special form of technologyAn Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying discourse on the sweep of human history. "This meaty little volume . . . 'concentrates specifically on the intersections between food history and world history.' But history isnt Standage's only concern. He takes the long view to illuminate and contextualize such contemporary issues as genetically modified foods, the complex relationship between food and poverty, the local food movement, the politicization of food and the environmental outcomes of modern methods of agriculture . . . Cogent, informative and insightful."Kirkus Reviews "This meaty little volume . . . 'concentrates specifically on the intersections between food history and world history.' But history isnt Standage's only concern. He takes the long view to illuminate and contextualize such contemporary issues as genetically modified foods, the complex relationship between food and poverty, the local food movement, the politicization of food and the environmental outcomes of modern methods of agriculture . . . Cogent, informative and insightful."Kirkus Reviews
"Earliest civilizations appeared on earth when farmers banded together and exploited their excess crops as a means of trade and currency. This allowed some people to abandon agriculture [leading to] organized communities and cities. Standage traces this ever-evolving story through Europe, Asia, and the Americas and casts human progress as an elaboration and refinement of this foundation . . . Standage also uncovers the aspects of food distribution that underlay such historic events as the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of the Soviet empire."Mark Knoblauch, Booklist
"Standage's previous book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses, theorized that the titular six drinks were reflections of the eras in which they were created. In this new work, he instead shows how one of humanity's most vital needs (hunger) didn't simply reflect but served as the driving force behind transformative and key events in history. Dividing the vast subject into six general sections (such as food's role in the development of societies and social hierarchies, its impact on population and industrialization, and its uses as a weapon both on the battlefield and off), Standage illustrates each section with historical examples and observations. Some topics, like the spice trade's encouragement of exploration, are fairly obvious choices, but the concise style and inclusion of little-known details keep the material both entertaining and enlightening. Perhaps the most interesting section is the final one, which looks at the ways in which modern agricultural needs have acted as a spur for technological advancement, with Standage providing a summary of the challenges still faced by the green revolution. Recommended."Kathleen McCallister, University of South Carolina Library, Columbia, School Library Journal
Review
“Earliest civilizations appeared on earth when farmers banded together and exploited their excess crops as a means of trade and currency. This allowed some people to abandon agriculture [leading to] organized communities and cities. Standage traces this ever-evolving story through Europe, Asia, and the Americas and casts human progress as an elaboration and refinement of this foundation…Standage also uncovers the aspects of food distribution that underlay such historic events as the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of the Soviet empire.”Booklist
“[Standage] shows how one of humanitys most vital needs (hunger) didn't simply reflect but served as the driving force behind transformative and key events in history. … Perhaps the most interesting section is the final one, which looks at the ways in which modern agricultural needs have acted as a spur for technological advancement, with Standage providing a summary of the challenges still faced by the green revolution.”Library Journal
“This meaty little volume… ‘concentrates specifically on the intersections between food history and world history. But history isnt Standages only concern. He takes the long view to illuminate and contextualize such contemporary issues as genetically modified foods, the complex relationship between food and poverty, the local food movement, the politicization of food and the environmental outcomes of modern methods of agriculture… Cogent, informative and insightful.”Kirkus Reviews David Pitt - Charles Bracelen Flood - Ramsey Campbell - Maggie Shayne - L.A. Banks - Kelley Armstrong - Katherine Ramsland - Joe R. Lansdale - Heather Graham - Cory Doctorow - C.J. Henderson - Kirkus - Anthony Quinn - Gahan Wilson - John Fowles - Anthony Quinn - Gahan Wilson - John Fowles - Gene Lyons - Jon Winokur - Neil Walsh - Andrew Leonard - Stephen R. Donaldson - Michael A. Stackpole - Glen Cook - Neil Walsh - Andrew Leonard - Stephen R. Donaldson - Michael A. Stackpole - Glen Cook - Neil Walsh - Stephen R. Donaldson - Jacqueline Carey - Glen Cook - Elizabeth Haydon - David Drake - Dr. Lewis G. Maharam, medical director for the New York City Marathon - Danielle Ofri M.D., Ph.D, author of Singular Intimacies: Becoming a Doctor at B - Jane Brody's "Personal Health" column in The New York Times - Ulick O'Connor - Michael Billington - Michael Coveney - Sir Ian McKellen - Blender Magazine - Yoga Journal - The Financial Times (London) - The Guardian (London) - The Sunday Independent (London) - Los Angeles Times - New York Times Book Review - Newsweek - Booklist - Kirkus Reviews - Publishers Weekly (starred) - SF Site - The Dallas Morning News - New York Observer - Booklist - Kirkus Reviews - Publishers Weekly - The New York Times Book Review - USA Today - Salon.com - SF Site - The Good Book Guide - Publishers Weekly - Salon.com - SF Site - The Good Book Guide - Kirkus Reviews - Booklist - Booklist - Romantic Times Bookclub - Booklist - Kirkus Reviews - Booklist, starred review - Publishers Weekly, starred review - San Francisco Chronicle - School Library Journal, starred review - Atlantic Monthly - Houston Post - Library Journal - Los Angeles Times Book Review - Miami Herald - Newsweek - Philadelphia Inquirer - Publishers Weekly - The Chicago Tribune - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Booklist - Interzone - Science Fiction Chronicle - VOYA - Cassandra King, author of The Sunday Wife - Deborah Smith, New York Times bestselling author of A Place to Call Home - Haywood Smith, New York Times bestselling author of the Red Hat Club series - Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama - Larry Habegger, editor, Travelers' Tales Paris - Entertainment Weekly - Kirkus - New Scientist - Newsday - Publishers Weekly - Realms of Fantasy - San Francisco Chronicle - The Sunday Times - The Washington Post - Time Out London - Wired - Library Journal - Entertainment Weekly - Kirkus - New Scientist - Newsday - Publishers Weekly - Realms of Fantasy - San Francisco Chronicle - The Sunday Times - The Washington Post - Time Out London - Wired - Interzone - Library Journal - SF Site - Kirkus - Booklist - Publishers Weekly - USA Today - Library Journal - Publishers Weekly - SciFiDimensions.com - Enigma - SF Site - author of Lee, The Last Years - Australian Bookseller and Publisher - Australian Jewish News - Marie Claire (Australia) - Vogue (Australia) - Enigma - SF Site - Booklist
Review
“A fascinating history of the role of food in causing, enabling and influencing successive transformations of human society … An extraordinary and well-told story, a much neglected dimension to history.”—Sir Crispin Tickell, Financial Times
“The emphasis on food as a cultural catalyst differentiates Standage from Michael Pollan, whose plants eye view of the world keeps the consumables central. With Standage it is not what changes in food that matters, but rather what food changes. And its not just one food lifting and guiding history, but what Adam Smith might have called the ‘invisible fork of food economics.”—New Scientist
“Earliest civilizations appeared on earth when farmers banded together and exploited their excess crops as a means of trade and currency. This allowed some people to abandon agriculture [leading to] organized communities and cities. Standage traces this ever-evolving story through Europe, Asia, and the Americas and casts human progress as an elaboration and refinement of this foundation … Standage also uncovers the aspects of food distribution that underlay such historic events as the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of the Soviet empire.”—Booklist
“[Standage] shows how one of humanitys most vital needs (hunger) didn't simply reflect but served as the driving force behind transformative and key events in history… Perhaps the most interesting section is the final one, which looks at the ways in which modern agricultural needs have acted as a spur for technological advancement, with Standage providing a summary of the challenges still faced by the green revolution.”—Library Journal
“This meaty little volume… ‘concentrates specifically on the intersections between food history and world history. But history isnt Standages only concern. He takes the long view to illuminate and contextualize such contemporary issues as genetically modified foods, the complex relationship between food and poverty, the local food movement, the politicization of food and the environmental outcomes of modern methods of agriculture … Cogent, informative and insightful.”—Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Throughout history, food has done more than simply provide sustenance. It has acted as a tool of social transformation, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict and economic expansion. "An Edible History of Humanity" is an account of how food has helped to shape and transform societies around the world, from the emergence of farming in China by 7,500 BCE to today's use of sugar cane and corn to make ethanol.
Food has been a kind of technology, a tool that has changed the course of human progress. It helped to found, structure, and connect together civilizations worldwide, and to build empires and bring about a surge in economic development through industrialization. Food has been employed as a military and ideological weapon. And today, in the culmination of a process that has been going on for thousands of years, the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development and the adoption of new technologies.
Drawing from many fields including genetics, archaeology, anthropology, ethno-botany and economics, the story of these food-driven transformations is a fully satisfying account of the whole of human history.
Synopsis
The bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses brilliantly charts how foods have transformed human culture through the ages. Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changes—caused, enabled, or influenced by food—has helped to shape and transform societies around the world.
The first civilizations were built on barley and wheat in the Near East, millet and rice in Asia, corn and potatoes in the Americas. Why farming created a strictly ordered social hierarchy in contrast to the loose egalitarianism of hunter-gatherers is, as Tom Standage reveals, as interesting as the details of the complex cultures that emerged, eventually interconnected by commerce. Trade in exotic spices in particular spawned the age of exploration and the colonization of the New World.
Foods influence over the course of history has been just as prevalent in modern times. In the late eighteenth century, Britains solution to food shortages was to industrialize and import food rather than grow it. Food helped to determine the outcome of wars: Napoleons rise and fall was intimately connected with his ability to feed his vast armies. In the twentieth century, Communist leaders employed food as an ideological weapon, resulting in the death by starvation of millions in the S oviet Union and China. And today the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development, the environment, and the adoption of new technologies.
Encompassing many fields, from genetics and archaeology to anthropology and economics—and invoking food as a special form of technology—An Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying discourse on the sweep of human history.
Synopsis
The bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses brilliantly charts how foods have transformed human culture through the ages. Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changescaused, enabled, or influenced by foodhas helped to shape and transform societies around the world.
The first civilizations were built on barley and wheat in the Near East, millet and rice in Asia, corn and potatoes in the Americas. Why farming created a strictly ordered social hierarchy in contrast to the loose egalitarianism of hunter-gatherers is, as Tom Standage reveals, as interesting as the details of the complex cultures that emerged, eventually interconnected by commerce. Trade in exotic spices in particular spawned the age of exploration and the colonization of the New World.
Foods influence over the course of history has been just as prevalent in modern times. In the late eighteenth century, Britains solution to food shortages was to industrialize and import food rather than grow it. Food helped to determine the outcome of wars: Napoleons rise and fall was intimately connected with his ability to feed his vast armies. In the twentieth century, Communist leaders employed food as an ideological weapon, resulting in the death by starvation of millions in the S oviet Union and China. And today the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development, the environment, and the adoption of new technologies.
Encompassing many fields, from genetics and archaeology to anthropology and economicsand invoking food as a special form of technologyAn Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying discourse on the sweep of human history. Tom Standage is the business editor at the Economist and the author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses, The Victorian Internet, The Turk, and The Neptune File. He has written for Wired, The New York Times, and numerous magazines and newspapers. He lives in London, England. Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changescaused, enabled, or influenced by foodhas helped to shape and transform societies around the world.
The first civilizations were built on barley and wheat in the Near East, millet and rice in Asia, corn and potatoes in the Americas. Why farming created a strictly ordered social hierarchy in contrast to the loose egalitarianism of hunter-gatherers is, as Tom Standage reveals, as interesting as the details of the complex cultures that emerged, eventually interconnected by commerce. Trade in exotic spices in particular spawned the age of exploration and the colonization of the New World.
Foods influence over the course of history has been just as prevalent in modern times. In the late eighteenth century, Britains solution to food shortages was to industrialize and import food rather than grow it. Food helped to determine the outcome of wars: Napoleons rise and fall was intimately connected with his ability to feed his vast armies. In the twentieth century, Communist leaders employed food as an ideological weapon, resulting in the death by starvation of millions in the Soviet Union and China. And today the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development, the environment, and the adoption of new technologies.
Encompassing many fields, from genetics and archaeology to anthropology and economicsand invoking food as a special form of technologyAn Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying discourse on the sweep of human history. "This meaty little volume . . . 'concentrates specifically on the intersections between food history and world history.' But history isnt Standage's only concern. He takes the long view to illuminate and contextualize such contemporary issues as genetically modified foods, the complex relationship between food and poverty, the local food movement, the politicization of food and the environmental outcomes of modern methods of agriculture . . . Cogent, informative and insightful."Kirkus Reviews "This meaty little volume . . . 'concentrates specifically on the intersections between food history and world history.' But history isnt Standage's only concern. He takes the long view to illuminate and contextualize such contemporary issues as genetically modified foods, the complex relationship between food and poverty, the local food movement, the politicization of food and the environmental outcomes of modern methods of agriculture . . . Cogent, informative and insightful."Kirkus Reviews
"Earliest civilizations appeared on earth when farmers banded together and exploited their excess crops as a means of trade and currency. This allowed some people to abandon agriculture [leading to] organized communities and cities. Standage traces this ever-evolving story through Europe, Asia, and the Americas and casts human progress as an elaboration and refinement of this foundation . . . Standage also uncovers the aspects of food distribution that underlay such historic events as the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of the Soviet empire."Mark Knoblauch, Booklist
"Standage's previous book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses, theorized that the titular six drinks were reflections of the eras in which they were created. In this new work, he instead shows how one of humanity's most vital needs (hunger) didn't simply reflect but served as the driving force behind transformative and key events in history. Dividing the vast subject into six general sections (such as food's role in the development of societies and social hierarchies, its impact on population and industrialization, and its uses as a weapon both on the battlefield and off), Standage illustrates each section with historical examples and observations. Some topics, like the spice trade's encouragement of exploration, are fairly obvious choices, but the concise style and inclusion of little-known details keep the material both entertaining and enlightening. Perhaps the most interesting section is the final one, which looks at the ways in which modern agricultural needs have acted as a spur for technological advancement, with Standage providing a summary of the challenges still faced by the green revolution. Recommended."Kathleen McCallister, University of South Carolina Library, Columbia, School Library Journal
Synopsis
More than simply sustenance, food historically has been a kind of technology, changing the course of human progress by helping to build empires, promote industrialization, and decide the outcomes of wars. Tom Standage draws on archaeology, anthropology, and economics to reveal how food has helped shape and transform societies around the world, from the emergence of farming in China by 7500 b.c. to the use of sugar cane and corn to make ethanol today. An Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying account of human history.
About the Author
Tom Standage is the business editor at the Economist and the author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses, The Victorian Internet, The Turk, and The Neptune File. He has written for Wired, the New York Times, and numerous magazines and newspapers. He lives in London, England. Visit his Web site at www.tomstandage.com.