An Edible History of Humanity Paperback – Illustrated, May 3, 2010

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.'

An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage"An Edible History of Humanity" is the interesting history of the world through the transformative role of food. Science correspondent and accomplished author Tom Standage follows up his best-seller "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" with another appealing book but this time it's about the intersections between food history and world history. This informative 288-page book is broken out by the following six parts: 1. The Edible Foundations of Civilization, 2. Food and Social Structure, 3. Global Highways of Food, 4. Food, Energy, and Industrialization, 5. Food as a Weapon, and Food, Population, and Development.Positives:1. Well-written, well-researched book. Fluid narration.2. A fun way to learn about history through food.3. The very interesting topic of food's transformative role as a foundation for entire civilizations. It answers the following question, "Which foods have done the most to shape the modern world, and how?"4. Standage offers many fascinating historical tidbits throughout the book. "In English a house hold's main earner is called the breadwinner, and money may be referred to as bread or dough."5. Debunks some perceptions about nature. "A cultivated field of maize, or any other crop, is as man-made as a microchip, a magazine, or a missile."6. Good use of science to illustrate points. Honestly, where would we be without the grand theory of evolution?7. The three most significant domesticated plants that laid the foundations for civilization: wheat, rice, and maize.8. Explains why humans may have switched from hunting and gathering to farming.9. How the advent of agriculture led to wealth. Food as currency.10. Religious practices and how it relates to food. "Human flesh and bloods were thought to be made from maize, so these sacrifices sustained the cosmic cycle: Maize became blood, and blood was then transformed into maize."11. Fascinating history on the appeal of spices. Local and global food.12. Find out what fruit was known as the "fruit of kings". Find out what vegetable was associated with witchcraft. Great stuff.13. The impact of Christopher Columbus.14. Includes the sad history of sugar and slave trade.15. Many stories involve humankind's quest to feed its populace. The rush to combat famine. The potato famine and its consequences.16. Adapting. "Britain had dealt with the looming shortage of food by reorganizing its economy. By switching from agriculture to manufacturing, Britain became the first industrialized nation in the world." The fuels of industry.17. Explains how historical battles were decided by controlling food. The invention of canned foods.18. The worst famines in history. Not going to "spoil" it.19. The machine that changed the world of agriculture.20. The resurgence of new powers.Negatives:1. Notes not linked.2. Some minor formatting issues in the electronic version.3. Charts and diagrams would have added value.4. The title may mislead, this book has nothing to do with the taste of food (edible).In summary, I enjoyed reading this book, Standage provides a fun way to learn about the role of food in history. This book answers to my satisfaction the question of which foods have done the most to shape the modern world, and how? It's not an in-depth book and it certainly is not about the taste of food, but it does provide a fun, accessible way to learn about how food history intersects with world history. I recommend it!Further recommendations: "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human" by Richard Wrangham, "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky, "Spice: The History of a Temptation" by Jack Turner, "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World" by Dan Koeppel, "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation" and "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan, and "Food in History" by Reay Tannahil.

The presentation is a little different than "6 glasses", but I found it equally interesting. He presents it according to historical period rather than particular food items. The section on the spice trade I thought was especially good, but also has good info about the potato, corn, and modern agricultural innovations.

An Edible History of Humanity provides an amazing twist on the history we know. The written history of the world focuses on battles and politics with occasional reference to science. The author discusses the amazing role of food, specifically plant food, in the history. As plants are grown and modified by selection new sources of food are created. The timing of these discoveries in the history of the world leads me to reevaluate the role played by military action and political survival. Without food the army cannot move. Sounds simple but depending on the century the answer is more important that military planning (just look at Napoleon in Russia). Because the book does not explain the details of all of the historical events mentioned, it is important to have a reasonable background. In my mind some of the negative reviews below come from people with minimal background in history or people who were expecting a one line take-home message from the book.

Enjoyed the book is was a thought provoking read. I thought the author made a number of excellent observations and I would definately recommend this work to others. The digital edition left a lot to be desired. Words were broken apart in strange ways throughout the text (apparently the word genetic was beyond the computers parameters) this made reading an adventure at times. Basically, the content was great, the transcription was lacking or I would have given it 4 out of 5.

Usually, books about history discuss wars and diplomacy. This book begs to differ. It shows how much of history can be explained by the search for food. I enjoyed it and learned a lot.