Salt
by Mark Kurlansky · first published 2002
18mentions
11recommended by
16HN commenters
2011–2026first – last mentioned
69% recommend25% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Readable world history showing how central salt was to human life, from preservation and trade to fish sauce in Rome and the East; recommended for curious general readers who enjoy food history.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Mark Kurlansky's books Cod & Salt are the musts for every student on food studies. Together they supply the missing link of knowledge. One or two semesters courses are recommended for beginners in cod and salt studies.
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Mark Kurlansky has done a brisk business in this kind of biography-of-a-thing, Salt, and Cod were the first two books I thought of when I read your post, but he's also got books called Salmon and Paper that I haven't read. I think that I would put those books under the broad heading…
on “Ask HN: Biographies of Companies or Things?” ↗Wish we had used Kurlansky's book for European history: I now have some understanding of the Hanseatic League's origin! Who could have believed a book titled "Salt" could be so enlightening and fascinating: Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky https://amzn.to/2L2DO4N While this this sounds pedantic (who besides me would get excited about a good explanation…
on “Why Salt Was So Important Throughout History” ↗Mark Kurlansky's book titled "Salt" covers the history of fish sauce in both the West (Rome) and the East, among a great number of other topics. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142001619?keywords=Salt&qi... While I put off reading…
on “Garum: Fermented Fish Sauce for the Ancient Roman Masses” ↗This was an interesting read https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/...
on “Spices Have Made, and Unmade, Empires” ↗Would highly recommend the book "Salt" by Mark Kurlansky. I never realized how influential salt was to the course of human history.
on “One of the largest salt mines in the world exists under Lake Erie” ↗Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
on “Ask HN: Any recommendation for a good History of Science book?” ↗…Kessler, I think it's free if you send an email. Draws a really clever line of related inventions from swords to microchips. Specific areas after that... "Brilliant" by Brox on the history of lighting. "Salt" by Kurlansky. "The Master Switch" by Wu on telecoms and broadcasting. "Ascent of Money" by Ferguson has some critics, but it's got some great historical anecdotes on the history of financial tools,…
on “Nuclear fusion on brink of being realised, say MIT scientists” ↗Can we get a (2006) added to the title? Surprised nobody has yet mentioned Mark Kurlansky's truly excellent book Salt. It's a fascinating read, and really clues you in to just how central salt was to human life for most of our history.
on “In Raising the World’s I.Q., the Secret’s in the Salt (2006)” ↗I highly recommend the book “Cod” by Mark Kurlansky. It’s a very easy read. “Salt” by the same author is also fantastic.
on “A History of Salt Cod (2019)” ↗…interested what the article means by “[de Gama’s discovery of spices on Malabar] destroyed the economies of Alexandria, Genoa and Venice“ If you liked reading this article I recommend Kurlansky’s book “Salt: A History of the World”. [1] https://youtu.be/BOt5SmHf2aE
on “History of Pepper” ↗…"original sin". That's why so much effort was put into catching and preserving fish. Source: https://www.amazon.com/Cod-Biography-Fish-Changed-World-eboo... Also history of food: https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky-ebo... The author has a fascination with Basques & Basque history. Or maybe they really had a large influence in fishing and trans-Atlantic navigation. And that maybe they…
on “Fish bad, sugar good, and other medieval ideas about food” ↗Mark Kurlansky has a few, Salt being the most well known.
on “Spices Have Made, and Unmade, Empires” ↗Yep. I once believed that salt mines were a perfect storage place for environmental/nuclear crap. That is, until I read "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/... British…
on “Myron Ebell Takes On the E.P.A.” ↗> Caviar was served as a free bar snack, in the hope that as with peanuts, the saltiness would encourage drinking. So it isn't just the cheap stuff. I do have a note about the source, though: > Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky This book vectors the myth that Romans were paid…
on “Caviar was a free bar snack” ↗Also 484 pages of the pretty dense but readable, Salt by Mark Kurlansky
on “How to Easily Make Your Own Pyramid Salt Crystals” ↗