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The Story of Salt Hardcover – September 7, 2006

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Mark Kurlansky (Author)
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Mark Kurlansky (Author), S. D. Schindler (Illustrator)
4.3 out of 5 stars 19 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  • Grade Level: Preschool - 3
  • Lexile Measure: 1110L (What's this?)
  • Hardcover: 48 pages
  • Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (September 7, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0399239987
  • ISBN-13: 978-0399239984
  • Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 0.4 x 9.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsEntertaining history
By Maria Beadnell on December 14, 2006
Format: Hardcover
A deceptively easy and entertaining read, this book is filled with fascinating information, such as:

Whoever controls the world's salt supply is the superpower (right now it's the US!)

Salt is necessary to the functioning of our bodies--which is part of why early humans ate meat (and why we still crave salty pretzels).

Roads in many places in America wind so much because of the meanderings of animals in search of salt.

The research seems thorough (not my area of expertise but it has the ring of truth to it) and the facts are well-presented. Nice illustrations, too.

I was initially put off by the title "The Story of Salt"--yikes, that sounded dull. And in the hands of someone else it might have been. This is such an enjoyable read I'll be looking for anything else by this author.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThis book is worth its weight in salt!
By Judy K. Polhemus VINE VOICE on November 23, 2007
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Salt. Who would have thought something so simple, so seemingly common (to Americans) could control the world? Can it? Does it? Mark Kurlansky and S.D. Schindler reveal the significant and necessary role of salt in man's history in The Story of Salt, a condensed version of Salt: A World History, Kurlansky's best-seller for adults.

Speaking of canning, the duo show the discovery of canning with airtight, heated jars (p. 38). Just as with the discovery of salt as a preservative, then the next step in salt's progress was canning and frozen foods.

But back to the beginning. That is what the book does: It shows textually and pictorially how seeking sources of salt became essential to the growth of civilizations. As wanderers, men could eat the flesh of animals and get a necessary amount of salt. However, once people formed settlements, they had to go out to find salt sources. In nearly all cases, by-products were discovered: natural gas, secondary foods (cheese, sauerkraut, bacon), international trade, soy sauce, mummies, transporting without spoilage, salt fish, exploration, trade organizations, meatpacking, roads, new industries, independence, and oil drilling. This is a significant list. Each item is featured, illustrated, explained in a delightful manner from one block to a two-page spread of artwork and text.

For example, in Hallein, a Celtic settlement whose name means "saltwork," Celts used salt to preserve the thigh of hog to create ham. A block on the next page (23) shows a preserved Celt (known by their colorful clothing), who had been trapped in a collapsed salt mine around 400 B.C.

Other examples are the trade organizations formed by seacoast countries with cod fishing and inland countries with salt mines, e.g.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsFABULOUS for 4-80 year olds! Not just for kids
By Educator, Lifelong Learner on November 11, 2006
Format: Hardcover
A fascinating story accompanied by gorgeous illustrations, author and illustrator manage to convey some very complex and far reaching events in a way that is completely understandable. Lots for anyone to learn and the illustrations are very fine.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe Only Rock We Eat!
By D_shrink VINE VOICE on July 27, 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is basically a nicely illustrated book designed for the young student interested in chemistry, geography, geology, and history - and to make it even better, as an adult I learned quite a few things that I didn't know about salt. For the more advanced group, I would like to say that salts are precipitates of the joining of a acid and base. e.g. when one part HCL [hydrochloric acid] is added to one part NAOH [sodium hydroxide] - think drain cleaner in this case; we are left with one part table salt NACL and one part water H2O [which can also be written as HOH.

The authors begin with an explanation of how most of the surface salt on the earth is formed by solar evaporation of sea water. I found it interesting to learn that rock salt is still mined underground near the cities of Detroit and Cleveland, which now explains why some northern states use salt to thaw the ice and snow on roads in the winter - its relatively cheap. The USA produces the most salt of any country in the world with the largest mines near Salt Lake City.

One fact that I found interesting was why modern roads seem to meander so much rather than go in straight lines. Well, it seems they simply followed old animal paths that the animals had followed in their quest of looking for the next salt lick, as all mammals require salt for survival.

We learn how salt was used to preserve many types of food and eventually lead to some of our favorite foods of today as bacon, ham, and even ketchup, with the Egyptians being the first to use preservation on a large scale.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe big book was great and so is this one!
By J. Gonson on September 6, 2008
Format: Hardcover
I ordered this book for my son, who loves science, because I loved the adult version so much.
It is a fantastic abbreviation. Mark Kurlansky was brilliant to make compelling but clear kids' versions of his already excellent publications!
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4.0 out of 5 starsAnother crazy "Universal theory of history"
By M. Heiss on August 16, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Authors that try to come up with one overarching element to explain the arc of history usually fail.

This book is entertaining and interesting and offers some food for thought... but it's a bit of a stretch to link the epic turns of human history solely to the economic consequences of salt. 2 stars.

Beautiful illustrations save this project and earn the book its third and fourth stars.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsWe loved this book

We loved this book! My students had to make a Prezi on a non-fiction book. I teach a special education class. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Rita Vannoy
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is a wonderful story for middle schoolers and high schoolers who...

This is a wonderful story for middle schoolers and high schoolers who have difficulty reading. The text is based on phonics rules with the addition of geographical names of places... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Sheila Yeager
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Very interesting history!

Published 5 months ago by Dianne Milic
5.0 out of 5 starsI was pleased to receive it and read it immediately

I teach a Children's Lit course and I wanted to get this "informational" book to share with my students. I was pleased to receive it and read it immediately. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Benny
5.0 out of 5 starsPass the salt, please!

A FABULOUS book for children (and adults) to learn the history behind the discovery of salt and how it has been used through the centuries. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Richard and Liz
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Very good book. Love it.

Published 14 months ago by Maria Mercado
4.0 out of 5 stars(I read the full version and loved it), Luckily I have an 8 year old...

I was hoping for a book for an 11 year old, (I read the full version and loved it), Luckily I have an 8 year old who might like it (though I wish I bought it last year)

Published 16 months ago by DRB
5.0 out of 5 starswonderful resource to explain the influence of salt on the ...

wonderful resource to explain the influence of salt on the world. Really informative and the details keep my ninth graders interested!

Published 19 months ago by Katherine Carr
1.0 out of 5 starsFor Children

I didn't know. I was looking for a book with a history of salt. Too bad, I don't know who to give it to since I've no children at this age.

Published on October 29, 2013 by ~Kris
2.0 out of 5 starsInteresting but not thrilling

A bit too basic for what I thought it would be. The cover draws you in but it is disappointing after that.

Published on June 8, 2013 by Kay

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