Salt: A World History

This book was sooo interesting! I idly picked it up figuring, “Wow, I can't believe there's a whole book about salt... I don't know anything about salt.” And now? Now I know SO MUCH about salt! And so do all my friends, because the entire time I was reading it I kept inserting new salt-related factoids into conversation. My favorite? The phrase “red herring” comes from the salted red herrings that the Pilgrims used to distract the wolves that otherwise would have stalked them through the woods. Awesome. This book also had a kind of awesome subtle sense of humor. It's pretty much a whole world history using salt as a lens, focusing on trade and food history. Totally awesome.