Crossroads Kitchen : A Culinary Memoir of Empires, Oceans, and the Spices That Shaped the World

Before it was a seasoning, it was the scent of absolute madness.Open your spice cabinet. The black pepper, the cinnamon, the cloves, and the nutmeg sitting quietly on your shelf were once the most coveted, violently contested commodities on Earth. For the promise of these aromas, kings bankrupted their treasuries, indigenous populations were erased, and the map of the world was redrawn forever.In ...