If you're looking for a history of salt; neatly packaged, easy to follow for an uninitated reader, and full of fun facts about salt to share at dinner parties; this is not the book for you. Kurlansky's writing is dense and dry. The only real difference between this book and a book intended for historians to read is the somewhat lacking bibliography and lack of footnotes. There is no overarching narrative line to link diverse chapters covering everything salt from cultures all over the world, making the book feel choppy and difficult to keep up with.

But despite its organizational flaws, you can't deny Kurlansky did his research. This book is overflowing with fascinating information, if you have the endurance to get through the book. When the book ends, you get the sense that Kurlansky simply had to limit the length of his book and decide to end it there. It certainly wasn't because he ran out of stuff to talk about. I learned so much by reading this book and it certainly is exactly what the title says: A World History. I loved bouncing around different cultures, different time periods, and learning about how salt was used. I especially loved the recipes that were included, they were so interesting to read about.

While I did thoroughly enjoy the content of the book, I would've loved to read more about the biological importance of salt to life and understand chemically how the different types of salt were best suited for their individual purposes. I have a Biochemistry background though, so I acknowledge this information might not have been as much of a glaring omission to others. Still a chapter on the subject would've been really interesting!