A History of the World in 6 Glasses

By: Tom Standage

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Throughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal historical period.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola. Beer was first made in the Fertile Crescent and by 3000 B.C.E. was so important to Mesopotamia and Egypt that it was used to pay wages. In ancient Greece, wine became the main export of her vast seaborne trade, helping spread Greek culture abroad. Spirits such as brandy and rum fueled the Age of Exploration, fortifying seamen on long voyages and oiling the pernicious slave trade. Although coffee originated in the Arab world, it stoked revolutionary thought in Europe during the Age of Reason, when coffeehouses became centers of intellectual exchange. And hundreds of years after the Chinese began drinking tea, it became especially popular in Britain, with far-reaching effects on British foreign policy. Finally, though carbonated drinks were invented in 18th-century Europe, they became a 20th-century phenomenon, and Coca-Cola in particular is the leading symbol of globalization.

For Tom Standage, each drink is a different kind of technology, a catalyst for advancing culture by which he demonstrates the intricate interplay of different civilizations. You may never look at your favorite beverage the same way again.

©2005 Tom Standage (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Standage starts with a bold hypothesis - that each epoch, from the Stone Age to the present, has had its signature beverage - and takes readers on an extraordinary trip through world history." ( Publishers Weekly)

Fun and Informative

I expected this book to be mostly composed of trivia. Instead I was pleasantly surprised with the breath of historical information it provided. I'm relatively knowledgeable of ancient history, but still most of what this book reports was new to me as nearly all historical accounts gloss over the significant impact these beverages have had in shaping their respective cultures. Thus, this book was very illuminating, well documented, and enjoyable. And the narrator's voice is engaging as well. Highly recommended!

Adds to the history-told-from-a-quirky-angle genre

I've listened to a history of the world based around salt, and another based around cod. This book made a nice case that history might be better with a drink.

It is a popular history of 3,500+ years in 7 or so hours, and, appropriately, the book remained fast and engaging. rather than deep. Each drink is used to focus on a specific period of history, rather than the complete history of each drink. Beer is used to look at the rise of civilization, the narrative switches to wine when considering the rise of Greece and Rome, moves to coffee for the Enlightenment, and so on. As a result, sometimes cause and effect can be rather unconvincing - did coffee really cause the Enlightenment - but Standage never gets too over-the-top in his claims, and is always happy to introduce another interesting fact or vignette.

Even as someone who listens to a lot of these sorts of histories, this book had quite a few new insights, and old stories told in engaging ways. The reading is uninspired but serviceable, and doesn't detract from an all-around solid popular history.

Delicious and Informative

Very informative and full of history that people can relate to on a personal level. I won’t look at a glass of tea or beer again without thinking “Wow, I really know a huge amount about where this came from and the socio-politics that made this drink possible.”
Interesting thing that stuck in my brain was that the Industrial Revolution began around the same time that people stopped drinking Beer for breakfast (not a joke) and switched to Coffee and Tea.

Great information presented in an easily digested manner.

Greatly Enjoyed

Thoroughly recommend this book. Pleasantly read, researched and written. Not too long, but packed full of information. Every chapter is good. Takes you around the world in a brilliant concept. I have a hard time selecting a highlight. But the argument that coffee launched the Enlightenment is very thought provoking. Not too much can really be said. Either you are the kind of person who likes food history, or history told from creative, specific angles, or you are not. Similar to Kulanski with "Salt" and "Cod", or the "Botany of Desire".

Head half full

Content rich, very informative. Full of 'ooooh' and 'aaaaah' moments.
Great stories to recount over beverages with friends while drinking, you can make uninvited comments about the drink you're sipping and sound like a right wanker... In a good way.

Entertaining but not complete

I really enjoyed this book, and thought the author did a good job, especially when recounting the origins of wine or beer, in tracing the history of these two drinks. And this book is definitely worth listening to, but my disappointment is with the incomplete nature of the book, mostly in the spirits section. Rum and whiskey are given ample time, but what about vodka's obvious influence on Russia and how did that (or did not) impact the kind of societies that developed there? Or tequila and Mexico? What about rice spirits in Asian contents, whether sake or something else? Without touching on these other topics, the work seems slanted to the obvious Western European culture, but we're missing, I assume, some wonderful histories of these drinks in these far flung cultures.

But...the stuff that's in here is nice. I just wish the author would have invested more time in a more comprehensive picture.

Superb work

A very worthwhile 'listen'. Well researched & presented in a smotth, flowing sweep of trade & modernization.

Exciting and unique journey through history

I enjoyed this book, and all the richness of historic information about the importance of the drinks that moved and drove the world. I will never look at a cup of tea, coffee or coke the same way again.

An amazing perspective on world history

There is a brilliant insight here...the history of the world as seen through the sorts of drinks that predominate in each time; beer, wine, spirits, tea, coffee, and Coke. It is a story that is absolutely fascinating and wonderfully told.

This is just the sort of book that relaxes you - interesting, new, original, insightful....I could go on, but if you have a notion to listen to this one, just do it. You won't be disappointed.

A History of America in 6 glasses

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If more of the world had been covered in this history, I would have been far more satisfied. As it is, he ignored important facts in order to cover America rather than the whole world.

What could Tom Standage have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

By covering more of the known world, instead of giving a perfectly good history of America, and ignoring the rest of the known world.

Also, by checking his facts more carefully. There are a few hearsay fragments of information which are being offered as fact instead of the more boring reality. I know for a fact that some of what I was being told is not considered correct by actual historians and people who study this particular subject. Why not tell the truth?

How could the performance have been better?

More pauses during the presentation, especially between paragraphs and chapters. In fact the only way to know that a chapter had changed over was when there was a severe lack of gap between the sentences. The occasional beat between paragraphs and between chapters would really have made the performance a better listening experience, add to flow (I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it honestly would) and improve the whole performance.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The stories and hearsay fragments are excellent, I just wish that more of them could be based on fact.

A new look on history

Narrator pronounces a few things strangely which is a bit annoying, but interesting listen. I'll never look at a can of Coca-Cola the same way again!

Brilliant angel of history

I loved this book and the way it tells the role of 6 drinks in history. I have learnt many interesting and fun facts. I gave it 4 stars because it omitted the roles of Turks in spreading coffee in Europe hence the term Turkish coffee, and the first café being opened in London by an Ottoman subject. It also omits the fact that Turkey is the highest tea consuming country per capita. I am curious to know why were these two facts were omitted.
Otherwise I truly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who is interested in enjoyable history.