Salt - by Mark Kurlansky (Hardcover)

About the Book

A Mark Kurlansky fan favorite: The unlikely history of the world through a grain of salt-now with a new foreword by NYT bestselling author Simon Winchester.

Book Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A must-have for any serious cook or foodie." -ANTHONY BOURDAIN
"This is a "wow!" book: roving, startling, engaging." -Washington Post

A Mark Kurlansky fan favorite: The unlikely history of the world through a grain of salt-now with a new foreword by NYT bestselling author Simon Winchester.

Homer called salt a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. Today we take it for granted: a common, inexpensive substance that seasons food or clears ice from roads. But as Mark Kurlansky relates in his now-classic book, salt-the only rock we eat-has shaped civilization from the very beginning.

Throughout history, salt has been so valuable that it has served as currency, and its ability to preserve and sustain life made it a common religious symbol. Demand for salt established the world's earliest trade routes; salt making inspired ingenuity from the creation of natural gas furnaces in ancient China to new drilling techniques that led to the age of petroleum. All the while, salt has shaped food history by way of cod, cheese, olives, and nearly everything in our grocery stores today.

Mark Kurlansky's beloved Salt is a kaleidoscope of history that blends economic, political, religious, and culinary records into a rich tale. Returning to this modern classic, we're reminded anew of this beloved rock's glittering role in the history of humankind.

Review Quotes

"Kurlansky finds the world in a grain of salt." --New York Times Book Review

"Darned interesting ... At its best, this is a "wow!" book: roving, startling, engaging." --Washington Post

"Kurlansky continues to prove himself remarkably adept at taking a most unlikely candidate and telling its tale with epic grandeur . . . an immensely entertaining read." --Los Angeles Times

"This is terrific food writing; like fleur de sel, something scarce and to be savored." --San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Mark Kurlansky is the New York Times bestselling author of Cod, Milk!, Havana, Paper, The Big Oyster, 1968, and The Basque History of the World, among other titles. His most recent book, Cheesecake, was published by Bloomsbury in 2025. He has received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Bon Appétit's Food Writer of the Year Award, the James Beard Award, and the Glenfiddich Award. He is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times and frequently contributes to the New York Times and the London Guardian. A four-time Jeopardy clue, he lives in New York City.