As someone who's never really enjoyed "proper" history, I'm always surprised when I find myself enjoying a history book. This managed to both entertain and educate me, because with just the 6 drinks highlighted the author managed to create a brief history of civilisation as we know it. It really is amazing how much the fashions for certain drinks (and/or the lack of taxation on certain drinks) has shaped the world!

I think the last chapter, on CocaCola, let the book down slightly though. For the first five drinks, Standage made a fairly convincing argument that they did indeed change the course of human history, however CocaCola is used more as an example of the modern world, not a factor in creating it. It is a good example though, as you will see if you read the book!

I zoomed through this in a couple of days, and I'm even considering re-reading it, but this time taking notes ;)

A History of the World in 6 Glasses, written by Tom Standage and first published in 2005, presents a delightful, and highly informative, blend of history, science and human nature as it examines the origins, development and impact upon the world of six types of beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. Central to the book is the manner in which these beverages became part of, and often helped form, various cultures through the course of history in different parts of the world.

The story of each beverage is told in an individual chapter (with sub-chapters), but the stories are tied together where appropriate. The book examines, for example, why Britain became a nation of tea drinkers while the French drink coffee, and how in some cultures wine came to eclipse beer as the beverage of choice.

One of the things I particularly like about this book is that, while it highlights the roles played by the subject beverages in world history, it doesn’t resort to making factual stretches to make its case. It is insightful, and the analysis contained in the book is grounded in extensive research.

In order to keep the book from being overly long or dense, Standage probably felt that he had to be somewhat selective in his choice of beverages to cover, and this is seen in the fact that, even though there are many beverages which constitute spirits, the book basically covers only rum and whiskey. I suppose that he chose these as they allowed him to bring the focus of the book westward and discuss the opening of the New World and the role spirits, particularly rum, played in enabling the slave trade. I don’t believe that gin is even mentioned in the book, assumedly because, although it had a profound impact on society, most of this impact was felt in Europe, which is the focus of a number of the other parts of the book. (BTW, to learn more about the history of gin, check out its Wikipedia entry.) In any event, I don’t think that the limitations on the scope of the book detract much from its value.

All in all, I found A History of the World in 6 Glasses to be an easily readable, informative - and fun - book.

This was a lot of fun. Tom Standage is a writer for The Economist, and this book, A History of the World in 6 glasses, reads well. It takes you through 6 chapters dedicated to: beer, wine, distilled spirits, coffee, tea, and Coke.

Beer was a big part of the development of domestication and agriculture, and he goes through how it probably developed and what customs still survive. Beer used to be drunk from one huge jar, and everyone would use a straw, so it was a very communal thing - one of the antecedents of the modern "cheers."

Wine he takes through its discovery and the Greek and Roman preference for it. Did you know that "strong wine" for them was a mixture of 2 parts water to 1 part wine? Only insane cultures and Gods drank unadulterated wine without mixing a lot of water with it.

The distilled spirits chapter followed the exploration of the world, sea voyages, and increasing international trade. Rum became a standard daily ration on British Navy vessels, and because they drank it with sugar and lime juice (called grog), sailors stopped getting scurvy. The French sailors, who still drank brandy every day, were more scurvy prone, and Standage attributes some of the Royal Navy's successes to the disappearance of scurvy.

Coffee is important in terms of the Enlightenment and waking up a population that drank beer, wine, and liquor all the time (water was too unsanitary). Once coffee's popularity took hold, and people could drink something that didn't make them inebriated and actually gave them energy and focus, coffeehouses turned into meccas of discovery, discussion, business and science. Newton was inspired to invent calculus after a friend had made a bet at a coffee house about the elliptical orbits of planets. And the dubious story of Gabriel de Clieu is just funny, true or not: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_...

Tea was another import from Asia (coffee came from the Middle East) that caught on in Britain and followed the development of the colonial system. The British imported their tea from China, not knowing how it was harvested. Once they got their hands on some of the actual plants and began cultivation in India, the British East India Company became a very powerful entity in the region with armies, government-like powers, and a huge influence on Parliament.

And Coke brings you to the present, where corporations, branding, globalization, and the relationship between business and government can be explored in an interesting way through the development of Coca-Cola. I don't drink it myself, but if I did, I'd really be interested in how it came about and how the company has operated for the last century.

It's all fascinating, I'd encourage anyone to read it. The contextual treatment of world history was very easily absorbed. For instance, his explanation of the actual reasons Bostonians held the Boston Tea Party would make certain parts of the conservative movement think twice about their ideological mascot - the Tea Act was actually a move to lower taxes but also gave the British East India Company a monopoly to export tea to the colonies. The Tea Party is more of a lesson in the dangers of ties between government and business than a pat anti-tax catchphrase.

You'll never look at your glass, mug, bottle, or tumbler the same way ever again.

I was born in the wrong generation. I wish I was born in ancient Mesopotamia or Egypt so I could be paid in bread and beer.