History Of The World In 6 Glasses Summary

A History of the World in 6 Glasses summer reading assignments
1. Tom Standage’s choice of beverages, such as beer and wine, represent the major periods of history. I find that I agree with the author’s choices after studying ancient (pre-600 BCE) and classical (600 BCE- 600 CE) history. In the beginning of the novel, beer is introduced as the beverage that improved humanity’s way of life. Beer in Mesopotamia and Egypt was introduced as a social drink and remains a social drink today. However, beer does not only serve as a social function; beer had a key role for agriculture and specialization in work. Beer contributed to food surpluses resulting in the first permanent settlements approximately 10,000 BCE. For instance, barley cultivation

In addition, beer was much more safer to drink than water. This is because beer was boiled and water quickly became contaminated. It is clear why the author deemed beer an important drink that helped humanity develop from the neolithic time period to modern ways of live. In addition, Standage noted the importance of wine in the classical (600 BCE-600 CE). To the Greeks and Romans wine symbolizes wealth and power. Like beer in Mesopotamia and Egypt, wine was safer to drink than water, since it contained anti bacterial agents. Wine caused great philosophers, like Eratosthenes and Plato, to share their opinions about the beverage. Wine connected Greek and Roman values. Wine contributed to a social separation as the rich were expected to drink and recognize the finest of wines. Wine also was used for medicine. Wine embodied a civilized and

Tea is one beverage in particular that would have to represent India. Tea helped to grow India’s economy and created an ample amount of jobs. In the late 1700’s, Britain was reluctant to trust China to supply them with tea. The head of the East India Company, Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, had the idea to grow tea in India which would benefit Indians and the British. This would create many jobs for Indians. The environment in India was also good for tea production and tea bushes were found in India. This resulted in the rise of India’s tea industry. Today, India is the world’s leading producer of tea. As a result, more jobs were created, and it helped the tea market flourish because the locals also consumed tea. Like India, tea is sometimes referred to as not sweet. Thus reflects the uneasy work the Indians had to do in order to produce tea. In addition, when talking about Europe, coffee, is one beverage that represents the continent the best. Coffee became popular in Europe in a time when European scientists began to challenge the old way of thinking. For example, Galileo Galilei challenged the old Greek scientists. Coffee symbolizes a new and alert way of thinking. Instead of Europeans drinking alcoholic drinks, that made them relaxed they began drinking coffee, which made them alert and not fatigued. Coffee represents the age of reason, which explains the development and flourishment of European ideas. Coffee also caused a more effective distribution of