A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage is a non-fiction historical novel, whose main purpose is to show the surprisingly pervasive influence of certain drinks on the course of history. Then it takes the reader on a journey through time to show the history of mankind through the lens of beverages. The thesis of the novel is that through history certain specialty beverages have affected more than just the diet of people and changed political aspects, economic standings, religious ceremonies and social views throughout human history. Standage clearly favors the subject written about and offers no information or analysis to disprove the thesis of the novel. Tom Standage is an author of 3 other novels, which are also historic
Teaching the kids through a different view of the world would be its unique contribution to the program. Tom Standage, the author, was successful in proving his thesis throughout the novel. The thesis is clearly stated in the introduction, then supported throughout each chapter and then reiterated in the epilogue. There was plenty of evidence in the book, including quotes, poems, statistics pictures, maps etc. The book was not bogged down in a specific part, though it sometimes went into too much detail of the process of making the beverage. I have to confess that when I first picked up A History of the World in 6 Glasses, I did not expect to enjoy it. Firstly, I was wondering how a book could to sum up world history in less than 300 pages. Second, I do not drink 4 of the 6 beverages discussed in this book. Therefore, I was not keen on learning about their histories. However, I quickly learned that this book is more than just how and when these 6 drinks were made, but how it affected our modern world. A History of the World in 6 Glasses makes it clear that the history of mankind is a history of our consumption. Whether we are pondering revolution in a Coffeehouse in Paris or throwing tea leafs into the ocean in Boston, these drinks have had an impact on who we are. I highly recommend this book to anyone thirsty for knowledge! As Standage says, “They survive in our homes today