by Mark Kurlansky
Hennepin County Library paperback 452 pages plus bibliography and index
genre: non-fiction, history
I don't remember where I saw the reviews for this book, but it sounded fantastic. I'm on page 130 and not sure I can force myself to keep reading it. Parts of it are interesting, but it seems too academic and dry. I loved The Disappearing Spoon about the periodic table! I expected something like that - interesting and informative.
As much as I love eating salt, my favorite part of this book is on the back blurb. "Salt - the only rock we eat - has made a glittering, often surprising contribution to the history of humankind."
The photographs, maps, recipes, and illustrations add to the text, but I think I'll return it to the library without finishing it.
Part One: A Discourse on Salt, Cadavers, and Pungent Sauces
Part Two: The Glow of Herring and the Scent of Conquest
Part Three: Sodium's Perfect Marriage
Some of the chapter titles (twenty-six in all) are very clever, but the text is just not compelling enough for me to want to invest more time in this book.
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