Bloomsbury USA An Edible History of Humanity

Explica la historia desde la perspectiva de la comida. Me gustó tanto que lo estoy volviendo a leer.

Einfach und leserlich geschrieben, das Buch umfasst praktisch die gesamte Ära, seitdem der Mensch sesshaft geworden ist, und bewusst Landwirtschaft betreibt. Enthält einige interessante Denkanstöße, hat aber auch einige Längen. Vom selben Autor gibt es ein Buch über die Geschichte der Getränke, das ich etwas kurzweiliger fand.

Fascinating book

This Author had written a world history from 6 glasses of drinks. This book is also very interesting for its unique viewpoint. The foods of all kinds, which are the most basic materials for humanity, are presented by the author in both global scale of space and time. I believe this viewpoint can open a new world of our interests for human civilization.

This was the second of Tom Standage's books that I read, after A History of the World in 6 Glasses . While this book isn't quite as engaging as 'Glasses,' it does a great job of interleaving history with food's role in it. Enough that I'm still going to give it 5 stars. My wife and I are food-bloggers and we have several healthy-living blogger friends, and Standage adds interesting perspective on several of the philosophies that our blogger friends hold as basic truths. For example, that organic is "better" than fertilizer-enriched foods, explaining that there isn't enough farmland in the world for all food to be grown "organically" and meet the world population's food needs (enough total calorie production). Or that locally-grown is better for the environment than mass-produced foods. Furthermore, Standage does a good job of holding back his personal opinion on such topics, and simply lays out basic flaws/counterpoints to the topic, while reserving the claim that the flaws outlined outweigh the many benefits of organic and/or locally-produced foods - leaving it to the reader to reconsider their stance on topic. One of the other reviews I read suggested that you will find little enlightenment or new information in the book, if you're a history reader. That may be the case for some, but I consider myself a history buff, and I found the book to be an easy read that brought many new tidbits that intertwined with history with which I was already familiar - simply enriching my current knowledge. If you haven't read 'Glasses,' put that on your list first. If you read it and enjoyed it, then don't miss its sister, 'Edible History.'