MicrohistoriesLike this list

23 items

• Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy

  Harford, Tim, 1973-

  Add Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy to your for later shelf

  From the tally-stick to Bitcoin, the canal lock to the jumbo jet, each invention in Tim Harford's fascinating new book has its own curious, surprising and memorable story, a vignette against a grand backdrop. Step by step, readers will start to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Swindled

  From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee : the Dark History of the Food Cheats

  Wilson, Bee, 1974-

  Add Swindled to your for later shelf

  Bad food has a history. Swindled tells it. Through a fascinating mixture of cultural and scientific history, food politics, and culinary detective work, Bee Wilson uncovers the many ways swindlers have cheapened, falsified, and even poisoned our…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Gulp

  Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

  Roach, Mary

  Add Gulp to your for later shelf

  Few of us realize what strange wet miracles of science operate inside us after every meal. In her trademark style, Mary Roach investigates the beginning, and end, of our food, addressing such questions as why crunchy food is so appealing, how much…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Disappearing Spoon

  and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World From the Periodic Table of the Elements

  Kean, Sam

  Add The Disappearing Spoon to your for later shelf

  The Periodic Table is one of man's crowning scientific achievements. But it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON follow carbon, neon,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A History of the World in 100 Objects

  MacGregor, Neil, 1946-

  Add A History of the World in 100 Objects to your for later shelf

• At Home

  a Short History of Private Life

  Bryson, Bill, 1951-

  Add At Home to your for later shelf

  In "At Home", Bill Bryson applies the same irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit, stylish prose and masterful storytelling that made "A Short History of Nearly Everything" one of the most lauded books of the last decade, and delivers one of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Art of the English Murder

  Worsley, Lucy

  Add The Art of the English Murder to your for later shelf

  Murder -- a dark, shameful deed, the last resort of the desperate or a vile tool of the greedy. And a very strange, very English obsession. But where did this fixation develop? And what does it tell us about ourselves?

• A History of the First World War in 100 Objects

  Hughes-Wilson, John

  Add A History of the First World War in 100 Objects to your for later shelf

• Floodlights and Touchlines

  a History of Spectator Sport

  Steen, Rob, 1957-

  Add Floodlights and Touchlines to your for later shelf

  Focusing on spectator sports and their accompanying issues, tracing their origins, evolution and impact, inside the lines and beyond the boundary, this book offers a thematic history of professional sport and the ingredients that magnetise millions…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Eat Me

  a Natural and Unnatural History of Cannibalism

  Schutt, Bill

  Add Eat Me to your for later shelf

  Dark, fascinating and endlessly curious, Eat Me delves into human and animal cannibalism to find a story of colonialism, religion, anthropology, dinosaurs, ancient humans and modern consequences, from the terrible 'laughing death' disease kuru to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Holy Sh*t

  a Brief History of Swearing

  Mohr, Melissa

  Add Holy Sh*t to your for later shelf

  Holy Sh*t tells the story of two kinds of swearing--obscenities and oaths--from ancient Rome and the Bible to today.

• Maps That Changed the World

  Add Maps That Changed the World to your for later shelf

  Maps That Changed the World features some of the world's most famous maps, stretching back to a time when cartography was in its infancy and the 'edge of the world' was a barrier to exploration.

• Banana

  a Global History

  Piatti-Farnell, Lorna, 1980-

  Add Banana to your for later shelf

  Banana: A Global History takes us from the agricultural beginnings of the banana in New Guinea to its almost ubiquitous presence in culinary repertoires around the globe, from the United States to the Caribbean, from regions of Africa to the heart…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Plucked

  a History of Hair Removal

  Herzig, Rebecca M., 1971-

  Add Plucked to your for later shelf

  From the clamshell razors and homemade lye depilatories used in colonial America to the diode lasers and prescription pharmaceuticals available today, Americans have used a staggering array of tools to remove hair deemed unsightly, unnatural, or…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Severed

  a History of Heads Lost and Heads Found

  Larson, Frances, 1976-

  Add Severed to your for later shelf

  From the western colonialists whose demand for shrunken heads spurred brutal massacres to the troops in the Second World War who sent the remains of Japanese soldiers home to their girlfriends; from the memento mori in Romantic portraits to Damien…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Seven Flowers and How They Changed the World

  Potter, Jennifer, 1949-

  Add Seven Flowers and How They Changed the World to your for later shelf

  The lotus, lily, sunflower, opium poppy, rose, tulip and orchid. Seven flowers: seven stories full of surprise and secrets. Where and when did these flowers originate? What is the nature of their power and how was it acquired? What use has been made…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• An Edible History of Humanity

  Standage, Tom

  Add An Edible History of Humanity to your for later shelf

  The bestselling author of "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" brilliantly charts how foods have transformed human culture through the ages.

• The Big Necessity

  Adventures in the World of Human Waste

  George, Rose, 1969-

  Add The Big Necessity to your for later shelf

  An utterly original exploration of the world of human waste that will surprise, outrage--and entertain.

• Coal

  a Human History

  Freese, Barbara

  Add Coal to your for later shelf

  Prized as "the best stone in Britain" by Roman invaders who carved jewellery out of it, coal has transformed societies, powered navies, fueled economies and expanded frontiers. This text presents a narrative about an ordinary substance that has done…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Seeds of Change

  Five Plants That Transformed Mankind

  Hobhouse, Henry, 1924-2016

  Add Seeds of Change to your for later shelf

  Traces the history of five commercial plants - sugar, tea, cotton, potatoes and quinine - and seeks to illustrate how man's need, or greed, for these products has shaped human development. This edition includes a chapter on the coca plant,…Read moreRead more of this annotation