A chemist constructs a cultural history of sodium chloride and
reveals its magnitude in human affairs. In a volume burdened with a
plethora of introductory material (there's a foreword, preface,
acknowledgments, "and" introduction-and each short chapter begins
with an old-fashioned argument, as well), Laszlo makes it plain
that salt is no ordinary white powder. (In fact, he reveals, pure
salt is colorless.) He begins with a sort of pedagogical manifesto,
declaring that all education, like his study, ought to be
multidisciplinary, and then moves into some engaging chapters
dealing with various uses (and abuses) of salt. Sailors once used
it to disinfect wounds. It was one of the earliest means of
preserving food. Many ancient trade routes involved the
transportation of salt. The word (and concept of) "salary" has its
origins in salt. We learn how seawater is desalinated, how salt was
important in the history of Venice, how Gandhi employed it as a
powerful symbol to rally his followers; we learn why the sea is
salty (a puzzle: after all, only fresh water flows into it), why
salt will clear a wine spill on a tablecloth, why salty foods make
you thirsty, why salt will dispatch a slug and will both freeze ice
cream and thaw an icy highway. Toward the end, he even waxes
metaphysical. Although the volume for the most part is highly
readable, Laszlo occasionally allows his erudition to obfuscate, as
in one sentence that includes all the following: "mitochondrial RNA
sequences," "lipid bilayer," "glycerol," "ether bonds,"
"RNA-polymerases," "prokaryotes," and "eukaryotes." Yet he can also
decline into the lowest puns-e.g., he follows a comment about
Morton's attempts to prevent the problem of the hardening of salt
with this: "It being salt, they licked it." Readers may also find
annoying the editorial decision to permit the translator's numerous
notes to appear in the text instead of in unobtrusive footnotes.
Displays broad interests and a wide-ranging intellect, but the
style-often bland or dully didactic-could use a bit of seasoning.
(Kirkus Reviews)
For the sake of salt, Rome created a system of remuneration
(from which we get the word "salary"), nomads domesticated the
camel, the Low Countries revolted against their Spanish oppressors,
and Gandhi marched against the tyranny of the British. Through the
ages, salt has conferred status, preserved foods, and mingled in
the blood, sweat, and tears of humanity. Today, chefs of haute
cuisine covet it in its most exotic forms -- underground salt
deposits, Hawaiian black lava salt, glittery African crystals, and
pink Peruvian salt from the sea carried in bricks on the backs of
llamas.
From proverbs to technical arguments, from anecdotes to examples
of folklore, chemist and philosopher Pierre Laszlo takes us through
the kingdom of "white gold." With "enthusiasm and freshness" ( "Le
Monde") he mixes literary analysis, history, anthropology, biology,
physics, economics, art history, political science, chemistry,
ethnology, and linguistics to create a full body of knowledge about
the everyday substance that rocked the world and brings zest to the
ordinary. Laszlo explains the history behind Morton Salt's slogan
"When it rains, it pours " and looks into the plight of the salt
miner, as well as spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance.
"Salt" is a tour de force about a chemical compound that is one of
the very foundations of civilization.
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