
The Taste of Empire
How Britain's Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World
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Narrated by:
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Jennifer M. Dixon
About this listen
In The Taste of Empire, acclaimed historian Lizzie Collingham tells the story of how the British Empire's quest for food shaped the modern world. Told through 20 meals over the course of 450 years, from the Far East to the New World, Collingham explains how Africans taught Americans how to grow rice, how the East India Company turned opium into tea, and how Americans became the best-fed people in the world.
In The Taste of Empire, Collingham masterfully shows that only by examining the history of Great Britain's global food system, from 16th-century Newfoundland fisheries to our present-day eating habits, can we fully understand our capitalist economy and its role in making our modern diets.
©2017 Lizzie Collingham (P)2017 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Bee Wilson
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Since prehistory, humans have braved the business ends of knives, scrapers, and mashers, all in the name of creating something delicious - or at least edible. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer and historian Bee Wilson traces the ancient lineage of our modern culinary tools, revealing the startling history of objects we often take for granted. Charting the evolution of technologies from the knife and fork to the gas range and the sous-vide cooker, Wilson offers unprecedented insights.
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For the foodie/science geek/history buff in you
- By Nothing really matters on 08-30-14
By: Bee Wilson
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Matilda
- Empress, Queen, Warrior
- By: Catherine Hanley
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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A life of Matilda - empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages.
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Both entertaining and scholarly
- By Anonymous User on 09-10-19
By: Catherine Hanley
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The Flavor Equation
- The Science of Great Cooking Explained + More than 100 Essential Recipes
- By: Nik Sharma
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Aroma, texture, sound, emotion—these are just a few of the elements that play into our perceptions of flavor. The Flavor Equation demonstrates how to convert approachable spices, herbs, and commonplace pantry items into tasty, simple dishes. In this groundbreaking book, Nik Sharma, scientist, food blogger, and author of the buzz-generating cookbook Season, guides home cooks on an exploration of flavor in more than 100 recipes.
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Good Info on Food Science and Indian Recipes
- By A. Yoshida on 05-11-23
By: Nik Sharma
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Two Houses, Two Kingdoms
- A History of France and England, 1100-1300
- By: Catherine Hanley
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time of personal monarchy, when the close friendship or petty feuding between kings and queens could determine the course of history. The Capetians of France and the Angevins of England waged war, made peace, and intermarried. In this lively history, Catherine Hanley traces the great clashes, and occasional friendships, of the two dynasties. Along the way, she emphasizes the fascinating and influential women of the houses—including Eleanor of Aquitaine—and shows how personalities and familial bonds shaped the fate of two countries.
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Great book with a bit of slant
- By Ky on 12-20-22
By: Catherine Hanley
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Science and Cooking
- Physics Meets Food, from Homemade to Haute Cuisine
- By: Michael Brenner, Pia Sörensen, David Weitz
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The spectacular culinary creations of modern cuisine are the stuff of countless articles and social media feeds. But to a scientist they are also perfect pedagogical explorations into the basic scientific principles of cooking. In Science and Cooking, Harvard professors Michael Brenner, Pia Sörensen, and David Weitz bring the classroom to your kitchen to teach the physics and chemistry underlying every recipe.
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A good book - with some winning points
- By Chris L. on 07-17-21
By: Michael Brenner, and others
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The Drunken Botanist
- The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks
- By: Amy Stewart
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Every great drink starts with a plant. Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley. Gin was born from a conifer shrub when medieval physicians boiled juniper berries with wine to treat stomach pain. The Drunken Botanist uncovers the surprising botanical history and fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, and fruits (and even a few fungi).
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No more cheap tequila!
- By Cynthia on 03-23-13
By: Amy Stewart
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The Time Traveler's Guide to Regency Britain
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Ian Mortimer
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In the latest volume of his celebrated series of Time Traveler's Guides, Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history—the Regency, or Georgian England. A time of exuberance, thrills, frills, and unchecked bad behavior, it was perhaps the last age of true freedom before the arrival of the stifling world of Victorian morality. At the same time, it was a period of transition. Conveying the sights, sounds, and smells of the Regency period, this is history at its most exciting—the past not as something to be studied, but as lived experience.
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SKIP THIS BOOK
- By Lady Aristotle on 09-05-22
By: Ian Mortimer
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The Main Dish
- By: Michael Ruhlman
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Michael Ruhlman, author of best-selling books about professional cooking and chefs and best-selling cookbooks with such chefs as Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert, and Michael Symon, turns his reporter's eye and engaging style on himself to answer the question "how on earth did I get here?" In an unlikely and unplanned series of chance connections, and work often motivated primarily by fear of poverty, he managed to carve a unique place for himself in the increasingly obsessive world of restaurants, chefs, and writers.
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Awesome!
- By Meowley on 03-26-24
By: Michael Ruhlman
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The Pursuit of Italy
- A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples
- By: David Gilmour
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Did Garibaldi do Italy a disservice when he helped its disparate parts achieve unity? Was the goal of political unification a mistake? These questions are asked and answered in a number of ways in this engaging, original consideration of the many histories that contribute to the brilliance - and weakness - of Italy today. David Gilmour's exploration of Italian life over the centuries is filled with provocative anecdotes as well as personal observations.
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Good history: Tough Narration
- By C.S. on 11-12-18
By: David Gilmour
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Paper
- Paging Through History
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability.
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Very enjoyable
- By Vicki on 02-16-17
By: Mark Kurlansky
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A Hidden History of The Tower of London
- England’s Most Notorious Prisoners
- By: John Paul Davis
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Famed as the ultimate penalty for traitors, heretics, and royalty alike, being sent to the Tower is known to have been experienced by no less than 8,000 unfortunate souls. Many of those who were imprisoned in the Tower never returned to civilization and those who did, often did so without their head! It is hardly surprising that the Tower has earned itself a reputation among the most infamous buildings on the planet.
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History buffs, this is for you!
- By Amazon Customer on 05-11-22
By: John Paul Davis
What listeners say about The Taste of Empire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-11-22
Brilliantl
This was an excellent book. Well written and divided. A fantastic historical insight into the shaping of our modern world through economics, politics, religion, war, tradition and geography. At its heart a fascinating read that will leave you curious and hungry.
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- Ken Albala
- 04-23-21
magisterial
I have read this book when it came out, but what a delight it was to hear while walking. The information fed directly into my food history class which I'm teaching right now.
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- HSR
- 04-19-20
Wonderful history with an interesting point of view
In this book you will find fascinating details of the British empire, its colonies, it’s wars, it’s subjects, it’s conquered people and the rest of the world that the empire touched over 450 years. The sun never set on the British empire so largely everyone living has been touched by it. You will learn about fascinating developments in food storage and delivery systems including sea and land transport, salting, drying, canning and refrigeration; new technologies for farming, ranching and processing food which includes turning humans and animals into slaves whether literally or just nearly so. Also how class effected what was eaten and what nutrition was provided. One issue with the audio book was the reading. Some of this might be inherent to the material. A recipe does not easily translate to audio. History can be bland to read. It was difficult to gain traction with the book at my usual 1.5x rate and I had to slow it to normal speed and eventually settled on 1.3x. In general, I am stingy with 5 star ratings so 3 is still a book worth playing.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Brett Stevens
- 04-28-22
Sophomore treatment of people’s lives
Collingham had a very interesting idea. Her thesis was less compelling. Had she explored the spread of foods throughout the world in a reasonable way, it could have been a grand slam. However, she decided to reduce and narrow the experiences of people in history to the simple and reductive neo Marxist paradigm so exhaustingly prevalent in todays writing. She could have exposed some amazing human development through the interactions of dynamic groups. But instead rested and relied on tired cliches. Sad she lost so much due to her reliance on established memes that have been debunked.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-01-21
Overall really interesting and informative
I definitely enjoyed this book, the research was exhaustive and well planned out. I do agree with other reviews that some things don’t translate well to audio so I had to FF through some sections. I loved the class and social stratification of food through out the empire and the details about the trade routes. This book really hit every point. I did find that the narrator to be droning and I found myself zoning out and not comprehending much. I think I could retain more on a second listen because the tone of voice did fade into the background if I wasn’t really paying attention. It may be beneficial to listen to this book at an accelerated speed.
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2 people found this helpful