Download or read book The Taste of Conquest written by Michael Krondl and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2008-10-28 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The smell of sweet cinnamon on your morning oatmeal, the gentle heat of gingerbread, the sharp piquant bite from your everyday peppermill. The tales these spices could tell: of lavish Renaissance banquets perfumed with cloves, and flimsy sailing ships sent around the world to secure a scented prize; of cinnamon-dusted custard tarts and nutmeg-induced genocide; of pungent elixirs and the quest for the pepper groves of paradise. The Taste of Conquest offers up a riveting, globe-trotting tale of unquenchable desire, fanatical religion, raw greed, fickle fashion, and mouthwatering cuisine–in short, the very stuff of which our world is made. In this engaging, enlightening, and anecdote-filled history, Michael Krondl, a noted chef turned writer and food historian, tells the story of three legendary cities–Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam–and how their single-minded pursuit of spice helped to make (and remake) the Western diet and set in motion the first great wave of globalization. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the world’s peoples were irrevocably brought together as a result of the spice trade. Before the great voyages of discovery, Venice controlled the business in Eastern seasonings and thereby became medieval Europe’s most cosmopolitan urban center. Driven to dominate this trade, Portugal’s mariners pioneered sea routes to the New World and around the Cape of Good Hope to India to unseat Venice as Europe’s chief pepper dealer. Then, in the 1600s, the savvy businessmen of Amsterdam “invented” the modern corporation–the Dutch East India Company–and took over as spice merchants to the world. Sharing meals and stories with Indian pepper planters, Portuguese sailors, and Venetian foodies, Krondl takes every opportunity to explore the world of long ago and sample its many flavors. The spice trade and its cultural exchanges didn’t merely lend kick to the traditional Venetian cookies called peverini, or add flavor to Portuguese sausages of every description, or even make the Indonesian rice table more popular than Chinese takeout in trendy Amsterdam. No, the taste for spice of a few wealthy Europeans led to great crusades, astonishing feats of bravery, and even wholesale slaughter. As stimulating as it is pleasurable, and filled with surprising insights, The Taste of Conquest offers a fascinating perspective on how, in search of a tastier dish, the world has been transformed.

Download or read book Lady of Conquest written by Teresa Medeiros and published by Amber House Books. This book was released on 2013-10-25 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will he surrender his kingdom for a kiss? They call him Conn of the Hundred Battles, the warrior-king who forged a nation from a land of isolated clans. As High King of Ireland, he rides with the legendary Fianna, his elite band of warriors. But a threat to the throne looms from a mysterious enemy who has vanquished several of Conn’s bravest warriors. Conn rides out alone to face a seemingly invincible foe, never dreaming he will find a grief-maddened hellcat with emerald eyes and hair like liquid flame… Wielding a sword called Vengeance, Gelina Ó Monaghan has sworn to defeat the man she holds responsible for her family’s ruin. She never dreams she will be captured by him—and lose her heart in the bargain. Their forbidden passion will spark a private war fought with swords and kisses, promises and betrayal…until they discover the sweetest surrender of all in each other’s arms. Book 2 in the “Brides of Legend” Series, which includes: Shadows and Lace Lady of Conquest “Finely drawn characters bring to life a thrilling legend!”—Romantic Times “Medeiros is an extraordinary storyteller. Lady of Conquest is splendid!”—Bell, Book & Candle “A superb story that will capture your imagination and make your heart sigh with bliss. The kind of book you want to read over and over again!”—Historical Romance Club “Nobody writes humor with more heart or passion with more pleasure.”—Christina Dodd, New York Times bestselling author SPECIAL REVISED EDITION ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITION

Download or read book Spice written by Jack Turner and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2008-12-10 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this brilliant, engrossing work, Jack Turner explores an era—from ancient times through the Renaissance—when what we now consider common condiments were valued in gold and blood. Spices made sour medieval wines palatable, camouflaged the smell of corpses, and served as wedding night aphrodisiacs. Indispensible for cooking, medicine, worship, and the arts of love, they were thought to have magical properties and were so valuable that they were often kept under lock and key. For some, spices represented Paradise, for others, the road to perdition, but they were potent symbols of wealth and power, and the wish to possess them drove explorers to circumnavigate the globe—and even to savagery. Following spices across continents and through literature and mythology, Spice is a beguiling narrative about the surprisingly vast influence spices have had on human desire. Includes eight pages of color photographs. One of the Best Books of the Year: Discover Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle

Download or read book The Social Conquest of Earth written by Edward O. Wilson and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2012-04-09 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Book of the Year (Nonfiction) Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence (Nonfiction) From the most celebrated heir to Darwin comes a groundbreaking book on evolution, the summa work of Edward O. Wilson's legendary career. Sparking vigorous debate in the sciences, The Social Conquest of Earth upends “the famous theory that evolution naturally encourages creatures to put family first” (Discover). Refashioning the story of human evolution, Wilson draws on his remarkable knowledge of biology and social behavior to demonstrate that group selection, not kin selection, is the premier driving force of human evolution. In a work that James D. Watson calls “a monumental exploration of the biological origins of the human condition,” Wilson explains how our innate drive to belong to a group is both a “great blessing and a terrible curse” (Smithsonian). Demonstrating that the sources of morality, religion, and the creative arts are fundamentally biological in nature, the renowned Harvard University biologist presents us with the clearest explanation ever produced as to the origin of the human condition and why it resulted in our domination of the Earth’s biosphere.

Download or read book Out of the East written by Paul Freedman and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-03-25 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How medieval Europe’s infatuation with expensive, fragrant, exotic spices led to an era of colonial expansion and discovery: “A consummate delight.” —Marion Nestle, James Beard Award–winning author of Unsavory Truth The demand for spices in medieval Europe was extravagant—and was reflected in the pursuit of fashion, the formation of taste, and the growth of luxury trade. It inspired geographical and commercial exploration, as traders pursued such common spices as pepper and cinnamon and rarer aromatic products, including ambergris and musk. Ultimately, the spice quest led to imperial missions that were to change world history. This engaging book explores the demand for spices: Why were they so popular, and why so expensive? Paul Freedman surveys the history, geography, economics, and culinary tastes of the Middle Ages to uncover the surprisingly varied ways that spices were put to use—in elaborate medieval cuisine, in the treatment of disease, for the promotion of well-being, and to perfume important ceremonies of the Church. Spices became symbols of beauty, affluence, taste, and grace, Freedman shows, and their expense and fragrance drove the engines of commerce and conquest at the dawn of the modern era. “A magnificent, very well written, and often entertaining book that is also a major contribution to European economic and social history, and indeed one with a truly global perspective.” —American Historical Review

Download or read book Stolen Princess written by Nikki Jefford and published by Nikki Jefford. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A supernatural Cinderella meets Mr. Darcy… With her family on the verge of losing everything, Aerith Heiris competes in an elven tournament to become a princess of Faerie. More like a bodyguard! The royal family is full of wicked siblings and plotters. Prince Liri is the worst of all with his relentless obsession and ambition. Then there’s Jhaeros, the most arrogant, stuffy, insufferable elf she’s ever known. He’s the last male whose attention she expected to attract. Falling for him is a risk that could doom them both. It will take more than Aerith's skill with a bow and arrows to play the new game set out before her and save her loved ones. *** Humorous coming of age fantasy romance for mature audiences. Contains steamy adult scenes. If you enjoy royal intrigue, cunning, rivalries, humor, plot twists, and romance then portal over to the Royal Conquest Saga. Not every fairy tale ends with a prince.

Download or read book The bourgeois republic and the consulate 1797 1804 written by François-Alphonse Aulard and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The French Revolution The bourgeois republic and the consulate 1797 1804 written by François-Alphonse Aulard and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The French Revolution a Political History 1789 1804 written by François-Alphonse Aulard and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The French Revolution a Political History 1789 1804 The bourgeois republic and the consulate 1797 1804 written by François-Alphonse Aulard and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The French Revolution written by François-Alphonse Aulard and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The French Revolution a Political History 1789 1804 written by François Victor Alphonse Aulard and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Francisco Pizarro written by Fred Ramen and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2003-12-15 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recounts the life of the Spanish explorer whose expedition to South America led to the conquest of the Inca empire and the establishment of Spanish rule in the Andean region.

Download or read book The Conquest of Bread written by Peter Kropotkin and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2013-04-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a Russian prince who renounced his title, this work promotes an anarchist market economy — a system of autonomous cooperative collectives. A century after its initial publication, it remains fresh and relevant.

Download or read book The Great War for Civilisation written by Robert Fisk and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 1136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sweeping and dramatic history of the last half century of conflict in the Middle East from an award-winning journalist who has covered the region for over forty years, The Great War for Civilisation unflinchingly chronicles the tragedy of the region from the Algerian Civil War to the Iranian Revolution; from the American hostage crisis in Beirut to the Iran-Iraq War; from the 1991 Gulf War to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. A book of searing drama as well as lucid, incisive analysis, The Great War for Civilisation is a work of major importance for today's world.

Download or read book Reflections on a Ravaged Century written by Robert Conquest and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2001 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look at the twentieth century examines the factors and events that have sent millions to their deaths, discussing the philosophies that have caused so much conflict, as well as what the future may hold for the human race.

Download or read book Blood and Thunder written by Hampton Sides and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2007-10-09 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Ghost Soldiers comes an eye-opening history of the American conquest of the West—"a story full of authority and color, truth and prophecy" (The New York Times Book Review). In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. Fueled by the new ideology of “Manifest Destiny,” this land grab would lead to a decades-long battle between the United States and the Navajos, the fiercely resistant rulers of a huge swath of mountainous desert wilderness. At the center of this sweeping tale is Kit Carson, the trapper, scout, and soldier whose adventures made him a legend. Sides shows us how this illiterate mountain man understood and respected the Western tribes better than any other American, yet willingly followed orders that would ultimately devastate the Navajo nation. Rich in detail and spanning more than three decades, this is an essential addition to our understanding of how the West was really won.