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A History of the World in 6 Glasses

Amazon.com Price:  $10.79 (as of 05/05/2019 16:22 PST- Details)

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Description

From beer to Coca-Cola, the six drinks that have contributed to shaping human history.
Throughout human history, certain drinks have done a lot more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink throughout a pivotal historical period.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola. Beer used to be first made in the Fertile Crescent and by 3000 B.C.E. used to be so important to Mesopotamia and Egypt that it used to be used to pay wages. In ancient Greece wine became the main export of her vast seaborne trade, helping spread Greek culture in another country. Spirits such as brandy and rum fueled the Age of Exploration, fortifying seamen on long voyages and oiling the pernicious slave trade. Even though coffee originated in the Arab world, it stoked revolutionary thought in Europe throughout the Age of Reason, when coffeehouses became centers of intellectual exchange. And hundreds of years after the Chinese began drinking tea, it became especially popular in Britain, with far-reaching effects on British foreign policy. After all, though carbonated drinks were invented in 18th-century Europe they became a 20th-century phenomenon, and Coca-Cola in particular is the leading symbol of globalization.

For Tom Standage, every drink is a type of technology, a catalyst for advancing culture by which he demonstrates the intricate interplay of different civilizations. You may also never look at your favorite drink the same way again.

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