The bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses brilliantly charts how foods have
transformed human culture through the ages.
Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical
competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of
Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changes—caused, enabled, or influenced by
food—has helped to shape and transform societies around the world.
The first civilizations were built on barley and wheat in the Near East, millet and rice in Asia, corn and
potatoes in the Americas. Why farming created a strictly ordered social hierarchy in contrast to the loose
egalitarianism of hunter-gatherers is, as Tom Standage reveals, as interesting as the details of the complex
cultures that emerged, eventually interconnected by commerce. Trade in exotic spices in particular
spawned the age of exploration and the colonization of the New World.
Food’s influence over the course of history has been just as prevalent in modern times. In the late
eighteenth century, Britain’s solution to food shortages was to industrialize and import food rather than
grow it. Food helped to determine the outcome of wars: Napoleon’s rise and fall was intimately connected
with his ability to feed his vast armies. In the twentieth century, Communist leaders employed food as an
ideological weapon, resulting in the death by starvation of millions in the Soviet Union and China. And
today the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development, the
environment, and the adoption of new technologies.
Encompassing many fields, from genetics and archaeology to anthropology and economics—and invoking
food as a special form of technology—An Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying discourse on the
sweep of human history.
Excerpt from An Edible History of Humanity:
Food’s power as a weapon has been acknowledged since ancient times. “Starvation destroys an army
more often than does battle, and hunger is more savage than the sword,” noted Vegetius, a Roman military
writer who lived in the fourth century a.d. He quoted a military maxim that “whoever does not provide for
food and other necessities, is conquered without fighting.”
For most of human history, food was literally the fuel of war. In the era before firearms, when armies
consisted of soldiers carrying swords, spears, and shields, food sustained them on the march and gave
them the energy to wield their weapons in battle. Food, including fodder for animals, was in effect both
ammunition and fuel. Maintaining the supply of food was therefore critical to military success. Before
the advent of mechanized transport, keeping an army supplied with food and fodder often imposed
significant constraints on where and when it could fight and how fast it could move. Although other aspects
of warfare changed dramatically from ancient times to the Napoleonic era, the constraints imposed by
food persisted.
Praise for A History of the World in 6 Glasses:
“There aren’t many books this entertaining that also provide a cogent crash course in ancient, classical and modern history.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Incisive, illuminating and swift.”
—New York Times
“Vivid and accessible stories about the changing textures of human life.”—
New Yorker
“Memorable facts…abound in Tom Standage’s delightful A History of the World in 6 Glasses.”—
Bloomberg.com
“A romp, offering a systematic chronology of human affairs from a specific viewpoint.”—
Washington Times
