If you like Mark Kurlansky’s book “Salt”
Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky
This book is trending now (and re-issued), but it was first published in 2002. It’s what it sounds like: a whole book about salt and a look at world history through the lens of salt. You can learn fascinating things, like: “In the nineteenth century, when mummies from Saqqara and Thebes were taken from tombs and brought to Cairo, they were taxed as salted fish before being permitted entry to the city” (43). But the book is more than trivia, it is a way of tracing how salt shaped history, and it really did.
COD: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, Mark Kurlansky
If you like Salt, you may enjoy Cod. It’s one of Kurlansky's other books. It similarly traces the significance of something you probably haven’t thought much about. You may be surprised to learn how much a fish determined the course of human events.
The Devil’s Cloth: A History of Stripes, Michel Pastoureau
It’s a whole book about stripes. Why were they considered good prison wear? Why do so many old mattresses and pillows have stripes on them? This book explores the history of the pattern. It’s shorter than a Kurlansky book, but just as intriguing.
Red: The History of a Color, Michel Pastoureau
Pastoureau also did a deep dive on the color red. It’s one of the most prominent of the colors and rich in associations. This book explores many of them and keeps you flipping the pages.
The Secret Lives of Color, Kassia St Clair
What about colors generally? Kassia St. Clair has you covered. This includes where colors come from and their history. It’s also a lovely book and contains many colors. It’s a good read.
Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials that Shape Our Man-Made World by Mark Miodownik
Material objects are often left out of historical narratives but they are the stuff of our surroundings and they often dictate our paths. This great book looks at things like glass, concrete, and silica aerogel.
Reviews we’ve done of similar books:
Silk: A World History by Aarathi Prasad
The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future by Joel J. Miller
Threads of Empire: A History of the World in Twelve Carpets by Dorothy Armstrong
