Michael Krondl's book, The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice does exactly what the name suggests - it tells the stories of three cities (Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam) and their roles in the spice trade.
He takes us on a tour of the world in the present time, meeting people and talking about spice. But interwoven with this narrative of his own journey is the vast history of spice trading between Asia and Europe. He looks at how the three cities got involved in spice trading and how it changed them and the world, before finally each of them fell from power.
The book is utterly engrossing, although by the third section is does tend to get a bit repetitive. Of course, the story of these three cities is intertwined but I felt the author could have avoided so much repetition. His description of flavors and smells, too, is great but at times a little over the top.
All in all, a fantastic cuisine-focused history text.
He takes us on a tour of the world in the present time, meeting people and talking about spice. But interwoven with this narrative of his own journey is the vast history of spice trading between Asia and Europe. He looks at how the three cities got involved in spice trading and how it changed them and the world, before finally each of them fell from power.
The book is utterly engrossing, although by the third section is does tend to get a bit repetitive. Of course, the story of these three cities is intertwined but I felt the author could have avoided so much repetition. His description of flavors and smells, too, is great but at times a little over the top.
All in all, a fantastic cuisine-focused history text.
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