The Story of Salt Paperback – Picture Book, August 7, 2014

This is basically a nicely illustrated book designed for the young student interested in chemistry, geography, geology, and history - and to make it even better, as an adult I learned quite a few things that I didn't know about salt. For the more advanced group, I would like to say that salts are precipitates of the joining of a acid and base. e.g. when one part HCL [hydrochloric acid] is added to one part NAOH [sodium hydroxide] - think drain cleaner in this case; we are left with one part table salt NACL and one part water H2O [which can also be written as HOH.The authors begin with an explanation of how most of the surface salt on the earth is formed by solar evaporation of sea water. I found it interesting to learn that rock salt is still mined underground near the cities of Detroit and Cleveland, which now explains why some northern states use salt to thaw the ice and snow on roads in the winter - its relatively cheap. The USA produces the most salt of any country in the world with the largest mines near Salt Lake City.One fact that I found interesting was why modern roads seem to meander so much rather than go in straight lines. Well, it seems they simply followed old animal paths that the animals had followed in their quest of looking for the next salt lick, as all mammals require salt for survival.We learn how salt was used to preserve many types of food and eventually lead to some of our favorite foods of today as bacon, ham, and even ketchup, with the Egyptians being the first to use preservation on a large scale.The importance of salt throughout the ages was clarified in many places as in our own history when we declared our independence from England, and our own large scale salt industry sprang up, after England cut off our salt supply.It is hard to believe that the authors could get so many interesting facts told in such an absorbing way in a 48pp book with numerous illustrations and a great two page timeline of important events in the history of salt placed at the end.This not only makes a nice reference for late grade and middle school kids, but a fun book that parents will enjoy reading themselves. Highly recommended.

Salt. Who would have thought something so simple, so seemingly common (to Americans) could control the world? Can it? Does it? Mark Kurlansky and S.D. Schindler reveal the significant and necessary role of salt in man's history in The Story of Salt, a condensed version of Salt: A World History, Kurlansky's best-seller for adults.Speaking of canning, the duo show the discovery of canning with airtight, heated jars (p. 38). Just as with the discovery of salt as a preservative, then the next step in salt's progress was canning and frozen foods.But back to the beginning. That is what the book does: It shows textually and pictorially how seeking sources of salt became essential to the growth of civilizations. As wanderers, men could eat the flesh of animals and get a necessary amount of salt. However, once people formed settlements, they had to go out to find salt sources. In nearly all cases, by-products were discovered: natural gas, secondary foods (cheese, sauerkraut, bacon), international trade, soy sauce, mummies, transporting without spoilage, salt fish, exploration, trade organizations, meatpacking, roads, new industries, independence, and oil drilling. This is a significant list. Each item is featured, illustrated, explained in a delightful manner from one block to a two-page spread of artwork and text.For example, in Hallein, a Celtic settlement whose name means "saltwork," Celts used salt to preserve the thigh of hog to create ham. A block on the next page (23) shows a preserved Celt (known by their colorful clothing), who had been trapped in a collapsed salt mine around 400 B.C.Other examples are the trade organizations formed by seacoast countries with cod fishing and inland countries with salt mines, e.g. the English and the Portuguese, the Germans and Italians. Prior to the War for Independence, the colonists traded their Virginia hams for Liverpool's salt. The war forced colonists to find their own salt source, which they did to became independent in more ways than one.A highly informative text loaded with illustrations, this book could well serve teachers and librarians in web research projects: salt in the middle with all the peripheral products and events spoking outward, with each one assigned to a team or group to research further, then create a powerpoint or other software presentation. Think of the multiple intelligences generated, much as salt generates other things. And certainly not common!A highly fascinating and recommended book!

There is so much information jam packed into this book. History, science, culture. The drawings are great as well. It's clear and easy to understand, but concise, considering it covers a time period of thousands of years.Highly recommend!

I read this aloud in two sittings (it's pretty long) to my grandkids, ages 4-10, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of interesting facts that bring this common household substance into focus for the marvel that it is. We read the book in preparation for touring Strataca, an underground salt mine/museum in Hutchinson, KS, and the book gave us useful (and fun) background information. Probably best for older kids--8 and up, though the six-year-old liked it too.

We loved this book! My students had to make a Prezi on a non-fiction book. I teach a special education class. We ended up dividing the book into sections and each pair of students made a Prezi on their section. It is packed with great illustrations and tons of information. Loved it and the students were totally engaged into the story of something so seemingly mundane.

I started using this book as part of a unit designed by Writing Fundamentals for the Feature Article writing unit. This book models how a Feature Article presents an everyday topic in an interesting way. Every year my students love this book and enjoy learning the history of salt and all of the weird things people used to do with it. It is nonfiction and has many colorful illustrations and diagrams.