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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2007 > July > 16 > Entry
the sweet scent of a good book
A suspicious package arrived in the mail. As soon as I picked it up I detected an exotic, spicy scent. Very strange.
I opened it and determined the source of the odor. It was a book with a small parcel attached to it—a packet containing Bombay Chai tea—thus, the scent.
That delicate fragrance was meant to attract my interest—it worked! I examined the book. It is an advance reading copy of THE TASTE OF CONQUEST—the Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice by Michael Krondl. The book will be published on October 30 by Ballantine Books.
Krondl is a former chef who is now a food historian. He traces the history of the global spice trade that peaked in the 16th and 17th centuries. The spice trade was the driving force that led to world exploration as explorers like Christopher Columbus sought new routes to the spice producing regions of the world. As you know from reading your history books, these explorers didn’t always find spices. They did find lots of other things and many strange lands—a land called America among them.
The title of the book alludes to three cities that were at the center of the spice trade. Are there any history buffs who might venture a guess at the cities??
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: escapism
Comments
By vick mickunas
July 26, 2007 11:39 AM | Link to this
yum—-tasty chai!