This book has an interesting premise that ultimately falls short of what is promised but is nevertheless a smart, fast, good read with plenty of facts that will make you sound like a know-it-all around the office.
Here is the idea: The history of world viewed through the prism of six glasses, specifically six drinks - beer, wine, spirits coffee, tea, and cola. These six different beverages inform or symbolize an important aspect of world history (or at least western history). Beer is partly responsible for the rise of agrarian communities, the foundation of civilization itself, offering an easy way to purify and store water, the mild intoxicating effect but a pleasant by-product. Wine was an important part of establishing patterns of western thought, drank at Greek symposia, parties where men gathered to discuss politics and philosophy that occasionally degenerated into orgies with serving girls, dancers, and probably each other. Spirits (notably rum) symbolic of exploration and exploitation, as distilled alcohol could be carried long distances on ships and was an important part of fueling the slave trade.
All that's very interesting, but where the book truly shines is when the author talks about coffee and tea.
Alcohol features in three out of the six glasses. If you have ever read about colonial fare (where you start the day with a tankard of hard cider to go along with your bacon and eggs...cider being safer to drink than water) it's hard to imagine the good people of this country not going around half shot in the ass about half the time (see this charming post on 6 Pounds of Flour on trying to drink like a colonial)....and here comes coffee, the great soberer. It embodies the spirit of the enlightenment, of reawakening, of thinking and questioning. Many coffeehouses became places of business (one, in Britain, actually became Lloyd's underwriters) where people joined together to share news. The author is correct in saying that coffeehouses with their caffeine fueled exchange of information were the "internet" of the 1600 and 1700s.
But it almost didn't happen, and it's because of that old villain of History, The Church Triumphant.
Coffee got its start as a drink in Yemen, and it spread quickly throughout the middle east. It was brought back to Europe by enterprising traders and The Church was immediately sceptical, feeling that as Muslims had turned their back on Christ by banning wine God had cursed them by supplying them with Coffee, a black, vile, bitter drink.
There were some that disagreed, and finally the matter was referred to none other than Pope Clement VIII, who found that it actually kept him awake during interminable masses and plays put on by the Second String Friar Tuck Theatrical society. So it's use was condoned, and coffee quickly took hold in Europe.
So that was cool.
The rest of the book: Britain conquered the world in no small part because they really, really liked tea, and coca-cola followed in America's wake as our nation established itself as a world power.
So is it a "complete" history of world. Hardly. But let's not quibble. This book was a fun little book, and is worth a read.
