An Edible History of Humanity

New
Paperback
2010
$10.75

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. In An Edible History of Humanity Tom Standage serves up a hugely satisfying account of ways in which food has, indirectly, helped to shape and transform societies around the world. It is a dazzling account of gastronomic revolutions from pre-history to the present.

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. In An Edible History of Humanity Tom Standage serves up a hugely satisfying account of ways in which food has, indirectly, helped to shape and transform societies around the world. It is a dazzling account of gastronomic revolutions from pre-history to the present.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: Main
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Published: 01 Mar 2010
ISBN 10: 1843546353
ISBN 13: 9781843546351
Book Overview: 'A fascinating history of the role of food in causing, enabling and influencing successive transformations of human society... This is an extraordinary and well-told story, a much neglected dimension to history.' Financial Times The bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses brilliantly shows how foods have transformed human culture through the ages. This book is a must-read for readers of books by Simon Winchester and Felipe Fernandez-Armesto.

Media Reviews

'This is a clever book. It shows how many hidden forces are at work - political, social, economic - when you sit down for dinner.' The Times 'Not a history of any one food but a history through food... With Standage it is not what changes in food that matters, but rather what food changes. And it's not just one food lifting and guiding history, but what Adam Smith might have called the invisible forkA of food economics.' New Scientist 'Highly readable, thought-provoking' Scotsman 'Erudite and thoughtful - An important contribution to the debate on food - A book of real significance.' Scotland on Sunday

Author Bio

Tom Standage is business editor at The Economist and the author of The Turk, The Neptune File, The Victorian Internet, and A History of the World in Six Glasses (Atlantic, 2006). He lives in Greenwich, London.