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| A History of the World in 6 Glasses | 
 enlarge | Author: Tom Standage
Publisher: Walker Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $4.20
You Save: $11.75 (74%)
New (48) Used (42) from $4.20
Avg. Customer Rating:  53 reviews
Sales Rank: 6918
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 311
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 0802715524
Dewey Decimal Number: 394.12
EAN: 9780802715524
ASIN: 0802715524
Publication Date: May 16, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee.
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| Customer Reviews:
 AP World History Review: a description of your opinion of the book December 4, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage provides a new method of viewing the history of the world by associating each era with a different beverage. Mr. Standage gives very insightful accounts of world events, and brings up many new points through pairing different "glasses" with each time period. From this, the reader is able to take away a new perspective of world history and why certain events took place in the way they did. Changes and continuities are easily perceived within the book as society moves from one drink to another. As more technological advances are achieved, the drinks and their production become much more sophisticated. In the earliest periods, Standage identifies beer as the beverage of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, while wine is of ancient Greece and Rome. Both beer and wine seem to have been discovered almost by accident, and neither was necessarily created. Simple fermentation methods were used to cultivate each, and simple distillation equipment dates back to the colonial period when spirits were popular. As the Age of Reason opened, coffee became the popular drink for its lack of alcohol, and Chinese made tea was widely imported within the British Empire. Both preparation methods became more complicated, as few were able to reproduce China's methods of preparing tealeaves. Finally, the production of Coca-Cola involved a complex series of ingredients that were mixed together and served from the newly designed soda fountain. The different drinks that society favored over time certainly showed technological advancements and changes that came along, but they also show many continuities. When each drink was first introduced, only the wealthy were able to drink it. The cost of importing many of the beverages was too much for the peasants of distant lands. But as time continued, the price on each beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola was greatly lowered so that anyone was able to afford them. Furthermore, many of the drinks were forced to go up against the church. Some religions felt that it was inappropriate to consume alcohol, and they banned these types of beverages from churchgoers. Drinks containing caffeine were considered a drug in some places. Although each drink became successful in the end, each struggled to find its place within society.
I would recommend A History of the World in 6 Glasses to anyone seeking a new perspective on the events of history. It brings up many new points, as demonstrated above, as well as consistently shows changes and continuities throughout time. The book opened up a new perspective on events of the world, many of which can be explained by the existence of certain beverages. For example, many great intellectual contributions came from the time when coffee was vastly renowned. This can be attributed to the stimulating effects of coffee, especially in comparison to the intoxicating alcohols which were previously popular, as well as the new discussions that were able to take place amongst the intellects who visited the numerous coffeehouses. Certain beverages can also explain a decline in disease, as they were less easily afflicted than water. Additionally, many beverages were required to be boiled, which would kill certain life forms that may be thriving within the supply. All in all, I was very impressed that such a simple thing as a beverage could impact society in such an enormous way, and thought Standage did an exceptional job at conveying his points. I would highly recommend this book because of its ability to institute new ideas amongst readers, no matter what amount of world history knowledge they may possess.
psychoactive drinks and history October 28, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a good read and informative. The role of psychoactive substances in history is a new field, with much more in it to discuss. I wrote a similar book, Molds, Epidemics, and History, published in 1989, and it is still in print. I am writing a book about the role o psychoactive substances in the early history of religion in the Middle East. The author could probably write a second book that includes opium, hashish, and mushrooms.
Every chapter made me want to drink along with it October 21, 2007
The book's title is tongue in cheek. It is not a history of the world. It is an extremely well written crisp and gifted book that shows how drink has both represented and helped shape its time. Half the book is about alcohol, and it is no surprise that man discovered it affects thousands of years ago. The chapter on beer made me crave a German lager, while the wine section called out for a good Merlot.
The author uses an enjoyable and personal writing style that makes for an enjoyable read. It is full of facts and analysis, but does not get weighed down by overstating information or trying to be too high-minded. The book proves that history can be both intellectual and enjoyable at the same time.
A tasty appetizer of a book September 26, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
In this book, Tom Standage offers an account of the historical significance of six beverages - beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola. Through them he provides a brisk sketch of world history, from the establishment of settled civilization in ancient Mesopotamia to the globalized world in which we live today. The perspective provided by his approach is interesting, and generally he manages to avoid the kind of overstated claims that are a common trap of works like this.
Yet as I read the book, I found myself wanting more. Standage's overviews are rather cursory - perhaps excessively so - and he glosses over some information that does not fit into the structure he lays out for the reader (gin is conspicuously absent, for example, despite its importance in the 18th century). The result is to make the book an intellectual appetizer (albeit a tasty one) rather than a meal, and after having their appetites whetted some readers will find themselves resorting to the bibliography he provides at the end of the text to learn more. As an introduction, though, Standage's book is a good starting point as an enjoyable read full of interesting details.
 Superior Satisfying History September 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Author Standage needs to take a bow. He has succintly and in quite entertaining fashion woven a tapestry that links popular beverages with society, culture, politics and economics. I cringe whenever I see history titles that say "Changed" this or that, but this book makes a convincing argument that humans have danced to the distiller's/brewers/vintner's tune and in this repect, alcohol and caffeine have indeed "changed" the globe. Today, while the precursors to the carbonated colas are still very much around and doing a brisk business, thank you very much (beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea), the looming "next" most popular beverage threatens to have long term and potentially catastrophic consequences - good ol' H two O. Of course, Standage points out that to a large measure the popularity of the earliest fermented brews owed a lot to unsanitary water, but now that population and urbantization pressures are combining with climatic and political changes, the availability of fresh water will be a major factor in geopolitics. Fascinatingly, he mentions how Syria's efforts to control the headwaters of the Jordan in 1964 had more than a little to do with Israel's 1967 preemptive strike against its hostile neighbors.
The author's eye for the telling anecdote and his mastery of the syncretic effects of popular culture and imperialism reveal how to a large extent it is the small everyday things that can snowball into much greater things, such as England's obsession with Chinese tea imports, its corresponding revenue imbalance with the opium-plagued Chinese, and the resulting conspiracy to foist smuggled opium onto a helpless nation. The effects of that evil (which the Brits have never really owned up to) are still being felt today, especially by New World Brits (aka Americans) who are seduced by cheap Chinese goods. Talk about what comes around goes around.
This is a quick, edifying read that will intrigue and fascinate on every page. Mr. Standage must diversify his talents onto other fields posthaste.
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