Hard to believe so much history could be found in one four-letter word. Those I've shared this book with have rave reviews about it. It puts into a new perspective the struggles of the human race to rise from the stages of hunter-gatherers to industrialists. Kurlansky has given my passions for food and culinary arts a paradigm shift and wrought changes in my recipes. I have a wonderfully fresh slant on prosciutto and parmesan. There's a seller on our table filled with Ukrainian rocksalt and garum has become a household word. It may be ancient politics, but more enthralling for me than today's news.