Why read Out of the East?

Book cover of Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination

Book description

How medieval Europe's infatuation with expensive, fragrant, and exotic spices led to an era of colonial expansion and the discovery of new worlds

The demand for spices in medieval Europe was extravagant and was reflected in the pursuit of fashion, the formation of taste, and the growth of luxury trade.…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Out of the East as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Andrew Jotischky

Author

This is one of the books I wish I had written! Although it is a scholarly book based on the author’s research, it reads like a compellingly told story. It’s full of imaginative and vivid detail. Paul Freedman asks why there was such a high demand for spices in medieval Europe, examines the practicalities of trade and travel that enabled Europeans to acquire them, the ways they used them as commodities and the cultural meanings of taste and what changes in taste tell us about societal development.

From Andrew's list on food and drink in the Middle Ages.