Review by Choice Review
In his preface, Standage (business editor, The Economist) writes that he will approach history as "a series of transformations caused, enabled, or influenced by food." He asks a basic question: "Which foods have done the most to shape the modern world, and how?" In answer, Standage begins with the invention of farming and the development of hierarchal societies based on agricultural surpluses. He relates the ways the European desire for spices encouraged trade, exploration, and colonization. Subsequent chapters examine food production and distribution, from supplying armies to Stalin's and Mao's use of food as a political weapon. Standage concludes with chapters on the 1960s development of chemical fertilizers and high-yield seed varieties that resulted in the green revolution but also led to the destruction of traditional farming practices and widespread environmental damage. Standage writes gracefully for a popular audience. Compared with his earlier A History of the World in 6 Glasses (CH, Nov'05, 43-1536), this book is less focused. Though there are notes for each chapter and a brief index, readers interested in the sources of individual quotations will have to hunt for the exact citations. Summing Up: Recommended. General and undergraduate libraries. T. J. Bond Washington State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Humanity's most basic need, along with water, is food. Earliest civilizations appeared on earth when farmers banded together and exploited their excess crops as a means of trade and currency. This allowed some people to abandon agriculture for specialized occupations such as architecture or soldiering. These settlers then organized communities and built history's earliest cities. Standage traces this ever-evolving story through Europe, Asia, and the Americas and casts human progress as an elaboration and refinement of this foundation. As food supplies stabilized, people developed tastes for items such as spices that made daily sustenance more palatable. This impetus led to interaction among cultures and civilizations and opened up the New World and its gifts of corn, potatoes, peppers, and other novelties. Standage also uncovers the aspects of food distribution that underlay such historic events as the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of the Soviet empire.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Standage provides an intriguing history of how hunger has shaped civilizations and prompted technological advancements. Starting with hunter-gatherer societies, Standage traces the evolution of cuisines and addition of new ingredients to the current debates over organic and industrialized food systems. With a gentle and deep voice, George K. Wilson guides listeners through the thought-provoking theses with the tone of a knowledgeable and sincere tour guide. His emphasis and deliberate delivery help keep the prose engaging while giving sufficient aural direction for listeners to understand the relevance of a particular sentence or paragraph. A Walker hardcover. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Standage's previous book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses, theorized that the titular six drinks were reflections of the eras in which they were created. In this new work, he instead shows how one of humanity's most vital needs (hunger) didn't simply reflect but served as the driving force behind transformative and key events in history. Dividing the vast subject into six general sections (such as food's role in the development of societies and social hierarchies, its impact on population and industrialization, and its uses as a weapon both on the battlefield and off), Standage illustrates each section with historical examples and observations. Some topics, like the spice trade's encouragement of exploration, are fairly obvious choices, but the concise style and inclusion of little-known details keep the material both entertaining and enlightening. Perhaps the most interesting section is the final one, which looks at the ways in which modern agricultural needs have acted as a spur for technological advancement, with Standage providing a summary of the challenges still faced by the green revolution. Recommended for both public and academic libraries.-Kathleen McCallister, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Society is what it eats. That's the contention of Economist business editor Standage (A History of the World in Six Glasses, 2005, etc.). Writers have given close scrutiny to the histories of individual foods, cuisines and traditions, he notes, but have rarely looked at the history of food on a global scale. That's why he decided to write this meaty little volume, which "concentrates specifically on the intersections between food history and world history." Tapping into fields as diverse as economics, anthropology, archaeology and genetics, the author asks a simple question: Which foods have had the most influence on shaping the world we live in today? Surprisingly, the list is short; corn, wheat, rice and the potato have been predominant in agriculture and commerce. But history isn't Standage's only concern. He takes the long view to illuminate and contextualize such contemporary issues as genetically modified foods, the complex relationship between food and poverty, the local food movement, the politicization of food and the environmental outcomes of modern methods of agriculture. It's a tall order, impressively filled. Food was pivotal in the creation of social hierarchies in prehistoric cultures. It was central to the spread of European colonial powers. The Industrial Revolution sprang from concerns over food. The Soviet Union collapsed because food was running out. Advancements in biotechnology have proved a double-edged sworda boon to the hungry and a bane to the environment. Written in the lucid, plain and rather stiff prose familiar to readers of the Economist, the book, like the magazine, is cogent, informative and insightful. An intense briefing on the making of our world from the vantage point of food history. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
