History of the World in six glasses: a review

History of the world in six glasses by Tom Standage gives a whirlwind of a history of (certain parts of) the world in six drinks: beer, wine, rum & other spirits, coffee, tea and coca cola.

I 'read' the book as an audiobook, that is listened to it over several days.

I learned so much. Standage is an author of the first rate, I've been listening to his other books as well and he knows how to give context to certain historical events, and makes the context interesting as well, threading a pearl of various global events through the rope of development of the six drinks. I hadn't gone in trying to understand the history of European enlightenment, but I did. I didn't know much about the history and causes of the Opium wars, but now I do. I have much better understanding and context of how we shape our drinks and how the drinks shape us. And that's all because as a hobbyist brewer I wanted to know how other brewers across the world did things, and how things originated.

Quality stuff, highly recommend, nine out of ten stars.