A History of the World in 6 Glasses - Tom Standage

After looking through the bibliography of The Ghost Map, I decide to read A History of the World in 6 Glasses - and someone was nice enough to give it to me for Christmas. It really is a world history from ancient times to current. It all starts with beer - which was apparently a main currency back in the day. Everyone was given a ration, even slaves. As time went on, wine took on a larger role - increasing it's influence as the cultivation of grapes improved. Helping this trend along is that aged wine can improve where aged beer is not considered a delicacy. The discovery of the New World and the resulting slave trade and sugar production moved spirits (originally rum from the waste of sugar production) to the forefront. Not only was it cost effective to use the waste from the sugar process, it was smaller to transport back to Africa, where it was prized as the most efficient way to get drunk. The Age of Reason required everyone to sober up, so coffee and the coffeehouses moved to ahead - stimulating conversation rather than rowdy behavior and sleep. The British love for tea helped them become a world power, based on the antibacterial properties and the need to boil the water. And finally Coca-Cola - which did indeed (and incidentally still does) contain ingredients from the plant that is used for cocaine - is the best known brand in the world and made it there through the rise of the USA as the superpower. Reading this concise history made me look at things in a new light and gave me a better understanding of each area in history.

I would recommend this book, let me know if you want to borrow it.