Spice
The History of a Temptation (Text Only)
1st Edition
Published on 2. August 2012
448 pages
978-0-00-745236-1 (ISBN)
Description
An essential history of a taste that shaped the world.
Spices: for centuries the staple of cuisine, remedies and ritual, they have commanded the highest of prices. To this day, saffron is, per ounce, one of our most expensive commodities. For their sake, fortunes have been made and lost and new worlds discovered. Astoundingly, in the 17th-century more people died for the sake of cloves than in all the European dynastic wars of the period.
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs depict a merchant fleet sailing to the Horn of Africa and returning with a priceless cargo of cinnamon. Only the story of mankind's infatuation with precious metals can rival the story of spice; and only the history of silver and gold rivals spice for its improbable and extraordinary combination of discovery and conquest, greed and violence.
Spices: for centuries the staple of cuisine, remedies and ritual, they have commanded the highest of prices. To this day, saffron is, per ounce, one of our most expensive commodities. For their sake, fortunes have been made and lost and new worlds discovered. Astoundingly, in the 17th-century more people died for the sake of cloves than in all the European dynastic wars of the period.
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs depict a merchant fleet sailing to the Horn of Africa and returning with a priceless cargo of cinnamon. Only the story of mankind's infatuation with precious metals can rival the story of spice; and only the history of silver and gold rivals spice for its improbable and extraordinary combination of discovery and conquest, greed and violence.
Reviews / Votes
'Epic and evocative...as readable as it is exotic.' Independent 'Splendid. Erudite, urbane and original. An appetising debut.' SundayTelegraph 'Sumptuous. Turner is equally at ease in antiquity and the Middle Ages.' GuardianMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Reflowable
File size
1,10 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-00-745236-1 (9780007452361)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2005
HarperPerennial
€19.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Formerly a MacArthur Foundation Research Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, and a Rhodes Scholar, Jack Turner has been cook, farmhand, and photographer, and has lived and travelled in Britain, Spain, Indochina, South America, Syria, Southern Africa and Australia. He has a first-class degree from Melbourne University and a D.Phil from Oxford. He can speak and/or read seven languages.
