Homer called it a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. As Mark Kurlansky so brilliantly relates here, salt has shaped civilisation from the beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over salt and, while salt taxes secured empires across Europe and Asia, they have also inspired revolution - Gandhi\'s salt march in 1930 began the overthrow of British rule in India.From the rural Sichuan province where the last home-made soya sauce is produced to the Cheshire brine springs that supplied salt around the globe, Mark Kurlansky has produced a kaleidoscope of world history, a multi-layered masterpiece that blends political, commercial, scientific, religious and culinary records into a rich and memorable tale.Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. Published by Walker and Company 2002. 484pp. Hardback with dust jacket. Dust jacket condition: Fair - covers marked, with prominent crease to rear. Prominent crease to rear inner flap, with glassine rising. Heavy bumping to top of spine, label residue to bottom. Book condition: Very Good - clean covers, tightly bound, clean throughout. No former owner inscriptions.