Beer: A Global History (Edible)

Informative.

For a book about beer, it's a dry read.

Very nice primer on the history of beer. Quick and easy read.

Arrived rapidly, well-packaged, very happy.

The book contains interesting material and the photographs in particular are worth viewing. However, the inclusion of significant historical errors, including reference to "President Benjamin Franklin" and furthermore, to Abraham Lincoln as his "predecessor" (page 111) make me question whether the other content is trustworthy. Better fact-checking would have produced an overall better book.

This is not a book on how to brew beer, or how to drink it, or rating the various brands. It might best be described as a social history of beer. There is some history--and it goes way back--but also brewing and brands and descriptions of various kinds of beer. It is a short, lively and informative book. It is well-illustrated and seems to be thoroughly researched. Smith's writing is good, with a touch of humor.The chapters will give a sense of content: Origins; Beer in a commercial world; Beer comes of age; The art of brewing; Drinking beer; Beer and culture. There is an appendix of beer brands. As you can see most of the book considers fairly recent beer history. Beer was once a proletarian drink that was important in every day diet as a food. It has waxed and waned as a drink for the more prosperous segments of society, and currently is more popular than ever, with a proliferation of microbreweries.

Full of errors right from the first page, which begins with an alleged “quote” from Plato, the Greek philosopher, about beer that Plato never said. Despite the title, the “history” part is just 44 out of 153 pages, which the rest chapters on “The Art of Brewing”, “Great Brewing Nations”, “Beer and Food”, “Beer and Culture”, “Cooking with Beer” and “Great Beer Brands”. One to miss.

Libro molto interessante e dettagliato,un po' di storia della birra dalla sua nascita fino ad oggi senza essere noioso o pesante . in lingua inglese. Consigliato