Salt

A 5,000-year odyssey populated by colourful characters that shows how sodium chloride has profoundly influenced people’s lives.

In his fifth work of nonfiction, bestselling author Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: Salt. Indispensable and an essential part of the human body – one can taste it in blood, tears and sweat – these square crystals are the only rock we eat; but salt is not of practical use only, as it has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind.

A substance so valuable it served as currency, this mineral has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires and inspired revolutions. Populated by colourful characters and filled with fascinating details, Salt is a multi-layered piece of an unlikely world history and a 5,000-year odyssey that shows how sodium chloride has profoundly influenced people’s lives.