The book by Standage takes an interesting look at the impact that six beverages had on the unfolding of the global events. The book also looks at the role these beverages played in making allies and enemies. The drinks that the author looks at our tea, coffee, beers, wine cola, and spirits. The author took the time to discuss two chapters of each beverage. Standage employed a chronological order approach upon when each respective drink rose to prominence, but there is an overlap of events in years.
The author naturally subdivides the book into two broad categories the first part the author discusses the three alcoholic drinks (beer, wine, and spirits) and the second part he wrote about the caffeinated drinks (tea, coffee, and cola) ( Standage, 2006) . The book can be reviewed in a different way. Looking at the ways used to make these drinks safe. The first three drinks become safe for human taking through fermentation and while the next two (tea and coffee) achieve safety through boiling while cola is purified through technology.
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Standage associated beer era with the history of Agriculture Revolution and the increasing importance of cereal grains. As a result of the cereals discussed the author geographical focus was Egypt and the Fertile Crescent. The author also points out the role of beer in the development of written language. Fermentation of grains led to the creation of beer, especially in Egypt and Mesopotamia. As agriculture spread throughout the world beer brewing became a common activity especially among oat and wheel growers.
The author relates the wine era with ancients Rome and Greece civilization. The focus was on the role that wine played in the modernization of ancient Rome and Greece. Readers of the book should be aware that wines were much celebrated among the Greeks and the Romans that they created the gods of wine naming them as Dionysus and Bacchus ( Standage, 2006) . Standage associated spirits with the colonial era though they rose much earlier. The author is quick to point out that it was the first ever global drink. Unlike beers are wines that were known for going bad because of long sea voyage, spirits would last for a long time.
Alcoholic drinks have always been known to draw conflict. The reason is that people act like idiots when under the influence of alcohol. However, the transition to non-alcoholic drinks was smooth either as they were faced with controversy just like the alcoholic drinks. In the wake of each beverage, these were a controversy that followed in association with the drink. In the Islamic World, there was an attempt to ban coffee as they confused is a stimulative effect with intoxication. Coca-Cola drew its own opposition from global market as was associated with American influence and capitalism ( Standage, 2006) .
The author first reviews the history of Coca-Cola before discussing how it profoundly affected international affairs. Coca-Cola first spread to the global market with the U.S soldiers. The historical aspect that was closely related to Coca-Cola was the cold war. In the book, the author discusses one of the interesting stories of how a Russian general Zhukov convinced the U.S government to coarse Coca-cola Corporation to make him a clear beverage so as not to be seen to support an American entity. There was an interesting story of how Cola wars played part in the Middle East. Cola was accused of anti-Sematic behavior where the company forewent Israel to target the large Arab market.
The role of tea in world history was clear. Tea was the cause of the Boston Tea party and the opium wars. The Britons were racking up huge bills of beverage tea while the Chinese had a minimal taste of European goods. The British were cautious not to draw Gold and silver from their reserves, therefore, they orchestrated a plan to sell the prohibited opium in China in order to generate income that would pay for tea ( Standage, 2006) . The addition of team by the European nations especially the Britons led to the growing of tea which was meant to violate its relations with China.
The author Tom Standage is a Briton author and journalist. He is an Oxford University graduate and has worked for The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian as a technology and science writer. His work has also been published in Wired, the Economist and The New York Times. Besides books and newspaper articles he has also been known to publish articles and surveys from The Economist in The Victorian Internet. He has also published six books. He published the book ‘ A History of the World in 6 Glasses’ in 2005. ‘ A History of the World in 6 Glasses’ was Standage masterpiece because no other author has been able to write on world history while focusing on the beverage.
The interesting stories that are in the book attract one and one does not have to have an interest in food and beverage. Well, it is a topic that very few would have thought to cover which is a masterpiece in my view. How the author is able to integrate historical events and beverages and how they affected these events. It is an interesting book to read. However, those interested in reading global history they might get confused because there is an overlap of events as the author focused on the chronological order of the beverages. Unlike another history book that totally focuses on events and how it happened and its impact on the society ‘ A History of the World in 6 Glasses’ cover a whole different aspect of history. The beverage history and how it influenced some historic events that helped create the modern world.
References
Standage, T. (2006). A History of the World in 6 Glasses . Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
