A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

'The book makes an easy and agreeable read, never seeming discursive or unwieldy, despite the vast amount of ground it covers. 'When Standage decided to follow his readable study of an 18th-century chess-playing automaton, The Turk, with a book about six beverages that really did change the world, he had the grace to take both the title and the story in a new direction.'- Stephen Meuse, Boston Globe In A History of the World in Six Glasses, Tom Standage argues that beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and cola have each, in their own way, helped to shape the course of history.'- Matthew Rees, The Wall Street Journal But history can also be seen through the prism of the commodities that money buys. 'Historians, understandably, devote most of their attention to war, politics and, not least, money. There aren't many books this entertaining that also provide a cogent crash course in ancient, classical and modern history.'- Wendy Smith, Los Angeles Times

'As refreshing as a cool glass of beer on a hot day and as stimulating as that first cup of coffee in the morning. ' uses something mundane and everyday to tell vivid and accessible stories about the changing textures of human life.'- Steven Shapin, The New Yorker Incisive, illuminating and swift.'- Janet Maslin, The New York Times ' A History of the World in 6 Glasses is loaded with the kind of data that get talked about at the figurative water cooler. Media Issues, Communication & Journalism.Computer Science & Information Technology.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage