UB Libraries Book Group discussion

Frog Music lent itself to a great discussion! Up next is Salt: A World History. Discussion leader is Stacy and will start on April 27th.

Ok, I guess I'm up!

Good morning everyone. Welcome to the Salt discussion.

I've been thinking for days about how I want to start this, and I've come up blank, unfortunately. My search for free book group guides was fruitless. So, I'm winging it.

I think that I was the one who proposed this book, because I enjoy nonfiction, and the idea of an entire book about salt was intriguing. What on earth could there be to talk about that would fill an entire book?

Well, we found out, didn't we?

I guess I'll start by saying that, while I sort of knew that salt was historically important (earning your salt, salary, etc.), I had no idea how important it actually was. The taxing of salt that lead to political unrest, even Gandhi, for goodness sake! So, tell me what most surprised you about this book.

I too was surprised to read of the salt taxes and monopolies that were used to control salt production and purchase. I was also surprised to learn about how a family could setup a salt-making operation with just 3 people and that it often operated for multiple generations. I didn't know about the connection between salt wells and natural gas wells either.

Even though I learned some really interesting facts about salt, I did not like this book much. I felt it was confusing in the way it jumped around chronologically, often repeating the same facts again and again. It sort of seemed like a sequel to his cod book (which I did not read and do not want to read). Or like he ended up with leftover information about salt, so he wrote this book.

I was also surprised at the vast geopolitical influence salt had. It spurred Christopher Columbus, etc.
I also found out facts about where salt is found, for example in red meat. How our cultural change, to an agrian society, fueled the search for and politics of salt.
I am only half way through and I have to agree partly with Ellen, it is repetitive at times. I feel as if I am slogging through, but all in all, I am glad to have. I really feel as if I have learned some very important facts. The authors writing style could use a bit of help though. :-)

Ellen, I totally agree with what you said about it jumping around and being repetitive. I made a note at the part about the sinkholes in England along the lines of "Is he going to tell us what caused them?" Yes, about 200 pages later. :/

I very much enjoyed reading about the salt manufacture (is that the right word?) in NYS.

I thought the story of the sinkholes was interesting. It reminded me of the side effects of fracking- another boom business. I too found the book repetitive (people use salt to preserve food, who knew?)- yeesh.

I didn't know that the guy who invented frozen food was named Birdseye!

It wasn't my favorite book. It was tough to read all at once. This struck me as the kind of book I would read a chapter or two from every once in a while.

Amy wrote: "I thought the story of the sinkholes was interesting. It reminded me of the side effects of fracking- another boom business..."

Amy, I had the same thought about salt and fracking. I thought that the explanation (when it finally came) was interesting, that it was pillars being dissolved, not the brine being removed.