Will I love Tastes of Paradise?

A sensual cultural history mixed with economic history, specifically the rise of capitalism, Schivelbusch launches an interesting argument—that one particular substance, or taste, has often defined the zeitgeist of whole nations for definitive periods. This book is wide-ranging and general in its treatment of alcohol, as well as several other drinks and spices. There are excellent imaginative connections made, and the book invites thinkers to think deeply and broadly about the meaning of intoxicants in history and in their own lives.

Virtually every dish we cook has salt. Seven out of ten Americans drink coffee every week. Chocolate hangs out next to cash registers in grocery stores and bodegas worldwide. There are so many substances that we have access to today that we don’t give a second thought, but historically speaking, their presence in our daily lives is a relatively new phenomenon. Schivelbusch investigates how the introduction to new stimulants, intoxicants, and narcotics reshaped the history of Europe (and subsequently, that of the rest of the world). Substances like tobacco, coffee, opium, chocolate, and spices didn’t just transform our palates; they… show more.