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Micro Histories: A Book List for History Buffs

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 3 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

Ranked #7285 in Arts & Lit, #152306 overall

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Rated G. (Control what you see)

 

This lens is dedicated to the type of book that is about the history of some particular thing. The genre is perhaps best personified Mark Kurlansky's excellent book "Salt".

For history buffs, this is a refreshing and entertaining way to get a fix.

By Mark Kurlansky 

If he didn't invent this genre he at least put it on the map

I've read all of these, but my favorite is "Salt."

Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

This book offers some really interesting insights into the Carribean slave trade.

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $15.00

The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

Really brings alive New York City history through the lens of the oyster. A little sad to see how much has been lost--I had no idea the waters around Manhattan used to contain thriving oyster beds.

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $23.95

Salt: A World History

I can't recommend this book highly enough. The Civil War, Gandhi and India's independence, the Erie Canal...and in the background there is always salt.

Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $16.00

The Cod's Tale

This is a beautifully illustrated children's book based on "Cod."

Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $16.99

Vegetables 

The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $15.00

The Story of Corn

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $24.95

Peppers: A Story of Hot Pursuits

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $12.00

Fruits 

Bananas: An American History

Amazon Price: $13.22 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $16.95

Oranges

Amazon Price: $11.05 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $13.00

Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $18.00

Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World

My husband got me this one for valentine's day!

Amazon Price: $16.29 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $23.95

Fish- Natural and Gastronomic Histories 

Consider The Eel: A Natural And Gastronomic History

The biology of the eel is much more fascinating then you might think.

Amazon Price: $16.95 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $16.95

Caviar: The Strange History and Uncertain Future of the World's Most Coveted Delicacy

This one almost reads like a political thriller. From Russia and Iran to La Guardia airport on the trail of people who have risked their freedom, and even lives, for the allure caviar riches.

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.00

A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth

The wonderful story of a young woman who "discovered" a living fossil in the nets of a Madagascar fisherman.

Amazon Price: $13.95 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $13.95

The Founding Fish

Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $25.00

Beverages 

A History Of The World In Six Glasses

Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $25.00

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World

Amazon Price: $17.10 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $19.00

The Devil's Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.95

The Empire Of Tea

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $22.95

Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times

This would be a very nice unexpected gift for a WWII history buff. The regions in France that produce champagne were very heavily effected by bombing during that war, and the perseverance of the vintners is truly inspiring.

Amazon Price: $23.95 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $23.95

More on Drinks 

Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West

Thanks for the tip Azuki!

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 09/05/2008)

Food-Related Biographies 

The True History of Chocolate

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $18.95

Charlemagne's Tablecloth

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $35.13

Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey--The Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $24.00

Harvest of the Cold Months: The Social History of Ice and Ices

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $24.95

For Dessert... 

Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America

A really interesting business story, this history of candy in America is sometimes sad, but also wonderfully nostalgic.

Amazon Price: $10.40 (as of 09/05/2008)

American Pie: Slices of Life (and Pie) from America's Back Roads

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 09/05/2008)

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food

I can't wait to get my hands on this one!

Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 09/05/2008)

Plants 

Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 09/05/2008)

The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 09/05/2008)

Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind

Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 09/05/2008)

Oak: The Frame of Civilization

Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 09/05/2008)

Birds 

Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird

Amazon Price: $24.00 (as of 09/05/2008)

The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction

Amazon Price: $14.96 (as of 09/05/2008)

Spices 

Nathaniel's Nutmeg: Or the True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $15.00

Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors

Amazon Price: $28.00 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $28.00

Vanilla: The Cultural History of the World's Favorite Flavor and Fragrance

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $22.95

Spice: The History of a Temptation

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.95

Natural History 

The Cloudspotter's Guide

Just as knowing the names of plants and trees makes the forest come alive, knowledge of the classes of clouds gives you a new perspective on the sky. I find myself staring at the sky (even while I'm driving!) all the time now.

Amazon Price: $16.90 (as of 09/05/2008)

Trilobite!: Eyewitness to Evolution

Amazon Price: $17.16 (as of 09/05/2008)

Utensil or Tool Related 

Culture of the Fork

Amazon Price: $32.50 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $32.50

One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw

Amazon Price: $11.20 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.00

The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance

Amazon Price: $13.60 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $20.00

Military 

Tank: The Progress of a Monstrous War Machine

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)

Colors 

A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire

Amazon Price: $17.79 (as of 09/05/2008)

Blue: The History of a Color.

Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 09/05/2008)

Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World

Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 09/05/2008)

Color: A Natural History of the Palette

Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 09/05/2008)

Medicinal and Medical 

Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)

The Fever Trail: In Search of the Cure for Malaria

Anyone who works for a pharmaceutical company would want to read this. It's an amazing tale of exploration.

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)

The Miraculous Fever-Tree: Malaria and the Quest for a Cure That Changed the World

Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 09/05/2008)

Migraine

Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 09/05/2008)

Mathematical 

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $15.00

e: The Story of a Number

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $19.95

An Imaginary Tale: The Story of i [the square root of minus one]

Amazon Price: $31.96 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $42.00

A History of Pi

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.95

E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $15.00

Things We Do 

Prayer: A History

Amazon Price: $12.76 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $15.95

Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero

A wonderful meditation on the experience of swimming.

Amazon Price: $14.96 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $19.95

Disasters 

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883

An absolutely stunning book.

Amazon Price: $18.94 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $25.95

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

This is a really wonderful book about a hurricane that destroyed Galveston.

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.95

Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.95

Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916

Although this book centers on a specific event, it's also a very interesting look at historical attitudes toward the beach.

Amazon Price: $11.21 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.95

Obscure Places 

Serpent in Paradise

Amazon Price: $11.01 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $12.95

Pitcairn Island Refuge of the Bounty Mutineers

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $27.50

The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule

Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $24.95

Voyages 

Longitude and Empire: How Captain Cook's Voyages Changed the World

Amazon Price: $30.56 (as of 09/05/2008)

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 09/05/2008)

Ghosts of Cape Sabine: The Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)

Uhhh...Unmentionables? 

Merde: Excursions in Scientific, Cultural, and Socio-Historical Coprology

Amazon Price: $15.00 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $15.00

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $13.95

The F-Word: Second Edition

Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.95

Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.95

Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash

Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $14.99

Have a comment or suggestion? 

Talk to me!

Rebecca

Thank you for your list. This genre seems to encompass a variety of topics near and dear to small groups of people, but that have a wide impact on the bigger culture. Genealogy, food history, inventions, curiosities, regional history...

Posted June 29, 2008

jr

There was a book called The Devil's Feast or something; it was about dangerous foods, like absinthe and the corsican cheese with fly larvae in it. It might belong in this list.

Posted October 12, 2007

Azuki

May I also suggest Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West by Beatrice Hohenegger. I think it worths all 5 stars it got on Amazon!

Posted July 31, 2007

Julie

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been looking in vain for a long time for the name of this genre! "Microhistories" is perfect. Somebody tell the Library of Congress!

Posted June 08, 2007

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Lisa_Kelsey

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