Mark Kurlansky’s Salt

Having been thoroughly impressed by Cod, I picked up Mark’s previous book – Salt and finished reading it recently. How he makes something as mundane as salt into an all-encompassing story on the history of mankind is amazing. It includes a whole chapter on Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha and a lot of little-known details on the role of salt in India’s freedom movement. Another interesting thing that caught my attention is the fact that the chinese have 6 tastes like the Tamils (more on this later). Compared to Cod, this one makes for a slower read as the story meanders a bit and the style is a bit long-winded. But don’t let that deter you from reading this great book.