The Story of Salt
by Mark Kurlansky
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mark KurlanskyIllustrator: S. D. Schindler
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2006-09-07
ISBN: 0399239987
Number of pages: 48
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Book Reviews of The Story of Salt
Book Review: This book is worth its weight in salt!
Summary: 5 Stars
Salt. Who would have thought something so simple, so seemingly common (to Americans) could control the world? Can it? Does it? Mark Kurlansky and S.D. Schindler reveal the significant and necessary role of salt in man's history in The Story of Salt, a condensed version of Salt: A World History, Kurlansky's best-seller for adults.
Speaking of canning, the duo show the discovery of canning with airtight, heated jars (p. 38). Just as with the discovery of salt as a preservative, then the next step in salt's progress was canning and frozen foods.
But back to the beginning. That is what the book does: It shows textually and pictorially how seeking sources of salt became essential to the growth of civilizations. As wanderers, men could eat the flesh of animals and get a necessary amount of salt. However, once people formed settlements, they had to go out to find salt sources. In nearly all cases, by-products were discovered: natural gas, secondary foods (cheese, sauerkraut, bacon), international trade, soy sauce, mummies, transporting without spoilage, salt fish, exploration, trade organizations, meatpacking, roads, new industries, independence, and oil drilling. This is a significant list. Each item is featured, illustrated, explained in a delightful manner from one block to a two-page spread of artwork and text.
For example, in Hallein, a Celtic settlement whose name means "saltwork," Celts used salt to preserve the thigh of hog to create ham. A block on the next page (23) shows a preserved Celt (known by their colorful clothing), who had been trapped in a collapsed salt mine around 400 B.C.
Other examples are the trade organizations formed by seacoast countries with cod fishing and inland countries with salt mines, e.g. the English and the Portuguese, the Germans and Italians. Prior to the War for Independence, the colonists traded their Virginia hams for Liverpool's salt. The war forced colonists to find their own salt source, which they did to became independent in more ways than one.
A highly informative text loaded with illustrations, this book could well serve teachers and librarians in web research projects: salt in the middle with all the peripheral products and events spoking outward, with each one assigned to a team or group to research further, then create a powerpoint or other software presentation. Think of the multiple intelligences generated, much as salt generates other things. And certainly not common!
A highly fascinating and recommended book!
Summary of The Story of Salt
From the team that created the ALA Notable Book The Cod's Tale comes the fascinating history of salt, which has been the object of wars and revolutions and is vital for life.Based on Mark Kurlansky's critically acclaimed bestseller Salt: A World History, this handsome picture book explores every aspect of salt: The many ways it's gathered from the earth and sea; how ancient emperors in China, Egypt, and Rome used it to keep their subjects happy; Why salt was key to the Age of Exploration; what salt meant to the American Revolution; And even how the search for salt eventually led to oil. Along the way, you'll meet a Celtic miner frozen in salt, learn how to make ketchup, and even experience salt's finest hour: Gandhi's famous Salt March.
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