false <![CDATA[An Edible History of Humanity]]> 6306969 2 <DIV><DIV><DIV><DIV><DIV><B>The bestselling author of <I>A History of the World in 6 Glasses </I>brilliantly charts how foods have transformed human culture through the ages. <P></P></B>Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. <I>An Edible History of Humanity </I>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. <P></P>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. <P></P>Food’s influence over the course of history has been just as prevalent in modern times. In the late eighteenth century, Britain’s solution to food shortages was to industrialize and import food rather than grow it. Food helped to determine the outcome of wars: Napoleon’s 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. <P></P>Encompassing many fields, from genetics and archaeology to anthropology and economics—and invoking food as a special form of technology—<I>An Edible History of Humanity </I>is a fully satisfying discourse on the sweep of human history.</DIV> 6491843 19 5 2009 An Edible History of Humanity total:65|5:6|4:26|3:23|2:10|1:0| 65 223 246 27 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 17:36:20 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 17:36:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jun 23 19:35:36 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 19:35:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon May 18 09:26:41 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 09:26:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri May 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 15 13:49:24 -0700 2009 Fri May 15 13:49:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue May 19 07:42:21 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 07:47:33 -0700 2009 Times Online review: "This is a clever book. It shows how many hidden forces are at work — political, social, economic — when you sit down for dinner. What it doesn’t show is that eating is one of life’s great pleasures."

New Scientist review: "The emphasis on food ...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Aug 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 12:10:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 08:04:48 -0700 2009 Economist, has done a credible job of surveying the influence of food on human history. His overview of theories on the origin of agriculture is a bit light, but his treatment of improved methods of food production as a technological breakthrough that dire...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 03:30:33 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 01:19:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 13:52:26 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 21:51:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Nov 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Oct 07 06:47:17 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 03 14:28:32 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 18:26:39 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 19:07:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Apr 09 19:59:22 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 20:02:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 20:06:06 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 20:35:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 02 18:35:21 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 22 11:30:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 11:47:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 11:47:00 -0700 2009
I could alm...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 13:34:50 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 13:22:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jul 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 06:34:41 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 06:38:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 15 11:52:15 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 11:54:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 08:46:35 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 08:48:46 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 11:49:57 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 05:43:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Sep 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 08:38:42 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 17:45:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6306969