In the two novels, This Fleeting World and The History of the World in 6 Glasses, the evolution of humanity is the theme that both authors outline in their stories. David Christian, a great historian who wrote This Fleeting World, makes a major connection between the species we see today to the first homo sapiens by describing each era. A very unique trend in human history.Tom Standage, the author of The history of the world in 6 glasses arrays the growth of humanity through different glasses of drinks that raised different lifestyles and cultures. Each drink marks a different era in world history. Even though both authors have accurate standpoints about humanity, Tom Standage seems to be more convincing because his knowledge of human history is easier …show more content…
He highlights the importance of the diversity in drinks by a clear interpretation of the 6 drinks of the world: Beer, Wine, Spirits, Coffee, Tea, and Coke. Each drink marked a new era and became symbols of beliefs in the nations they greatly impacted. Wine and Beer were both the first developed. Beer was made from wheat and barley. “The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer”.(Standage’s 303) This caused humanity to shift more to the agriculture life and become more static. This resulted in the increase in technology and caused different cultures to become more stable. “To rich and poor alike hath he granted the delight of wine, that makes all pain to cease”. Euripides (Standage’s 48) Wine was brought to many religious ceremonies. Wine is very sacred because only small amounts of it where able to transported due to the expense. The king was able to test his power and will due to selling major quantities of Wine. Both Beer and Wine started first phase in human modernization. The author also explains how coffee and tea made a huge impact on human history. He viewed coffee as a way to purify the brain. Tea is made of evergreen bushes which is used as a healing substance in Chine.
In the document “Doomed to Perish”: George Catlin’s Depictions of the Mandan by Katheryn S. Hight, she analyzes the work of George Catlin while he traveled to the Mandan colony west of the Missouri River. Hight identifies that Catlin created a false and imaginative depiction of the Mandan Indians based on his social and political ideas which ended up creating an entertainment enterprise rather than reporting history. Catlin’s extravagant depictions of the Indians, which did have an impact on the Indian Policy in America, seemingly motivates Hight to write on this subject.
In her article, “‘This Is the End of the World’:The Black Death,” which was on the New York Times best-seller list in 1978, writer and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Tuchman reports about the devastating impact of the Black Death in Europe from 1347 to 1350. [Summary] Tuchman starts her article describing the arrival of the deadly plague in October 1347 brought by Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina and its effects it has on Europe’s population (257-263). [Paraphrase] Tuchman describes about the terrible epidemic that is speculated to have emerged from China and how it is continuously spreading throughout Europe killing countless number of people (258). Tuchman names out a long list of European cities and how
Tom Standage has described the beginnings of six beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola and has found many connections, and information helpful in finding out history of the drinks themselves but also their impacts on the growth of civilization as a whole. This book connects everything with society both past and present, it makes learning about history and the way drinks connect fun and interesting. Like learning without even realizing you are. A History of the World in Six Glasses is more than just talking about each beverage as a single but as a whole, it’s connections, uses, relations, and growth they started.
In the book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom standage, is about Standage trying to validate that these six drinks (Beer, Wine, Spirits, Tea, Coffee, and Coca-Cola) are what help create a path for America, human history, and the development in history. In the introduction of the book, Standage voices that “Drinks have had a closer connection to the flow of history than is generally acknowledged, and a greater influence on its course. Understanding the ramification of who drank what, and why, and where they got it from…” (5) Standage is an Author and Journalist from England. His book A History of the World in 6 Glasses helps probe the development of history and social branching. In the book civilization and globalization is also a key point because Standage believes that those six drinks are what created a catalyst for each drink to shape the world around us.
World History, itself is a very well complicated topic to discuss. Many other authors have tried to condense many years of history in one book. Subjected to fail, Tom Standage’s attempt was a success. Instead of Standage trying to sum up the history, he simply based the book upon a single topic, in this case beverages.
The Roman writer and naturalist Pliny the Elder, in his treatise Naturalis Historia states “there is nothing more useful than wine for strengthening the body, while, at the same time, there is nothing more pernicious as a luxury, if we are not on our guard against excess.” Years before he wrote those words, wine had in fact come from humble origins outside Italy itself. Furthermore, the process of fermenting grapes goes back thousands of years, and its beginning can be traced to where the wild grown grape-vine, vitis vinifera, flourished and was actively utilized for this reason.
It is not common that when one thinks of the history of the world that the thought of beer, wine, spirits, tea, coffee, or even Coca-Cola comes to mind. Matter of fact, the thought of a beverage having an impact in history may be the very last thing that comes to mind. But according to Tom Standage in his book A History of the World in 6 Glasses, he argues that these six drinks have had an all-round influence in the history of the world. It is hard to imagine that the drinks we know of today, were the foundation and building blocks of the history that has been engraved in us. As to which beverage has had a greater impact in history, it is a matter of the extent to which each particular drink has contributed to influencing, not just people, but the course of history. Not diminishing the impact of the other beverages, but coffee has had a greater impact in history over tea and the other drinks.
In Part I Christian begins with the origins of the Universe, beginning with the big bang and ending with the formation of Earth. Part II traces the genesis of life on Earth, from organic chemicals to far more complex organisms. Part III follows the evolutionary creation of Homo sapiens through their dispersion across the globe. Parts I through III depict largely a history without humans, and, therefore, are dominated by interdisciplinary studies, an aspect Christian describes as big history’s distinguishing feature. Such sciences as cosmology, geology, biology, and more are employed in these sections to present an accurate picture of a global past with no written historical records. In Part IV begins the more traditional historical narrative, where Christian examines the discovery and evolution of agriculture. Parts IV and V follow how the discovery of agriculture would create opportunities and dilemmas, the solutions to which led to the development of civilizations, and eventually to our modern world. In Part VI Christian leaves history behind and looks toward what is coming next, breaking down the future into three parts: the somewhat predictable near future (the next one hundred years), the unpredictable middle future (the next several hundred to several thousand years), and the eminently predictable remote future (the remainder of time), ending his
Throughout the study of how beer changed civilization, I have come to realized the way “A History Of The World In 6 Glasses” explains the founding of beer and the positive impact it has left on the beginnings of civilization very accurately. Beer truly has impacted civilization due to the many positive opportunities beer has led society to. The alcoholic beverage surprisingly was the reason mathematics was invented. The farmers would have to calculate who’s crop land was who’s, so the required measuring and diving up land. It is hard to believe that a very common beverage that is served at every restaurant basically led to the invention of mathematics. Now a days mathematics is used on a day to day basis for almost every human being. After extensive research it is safe to say the the founding
It is impossible to give a clear answer to whether or not alcohol is bad or good for the body. However, one can conclude that heavy alcohol consumption only presents adverse effects. Everybody is different, and the effects of alcohol on a person varies depending on the person’s age, gender, stage in life, genetic makeup, family history, and current fitness level. One must also consider that these benefits and adverse effects of alcohol are influenced by nutrition and physical activity habits. The positive effects are inhibited if someone is not active or mindfully eating healthy. Conversely, the negative effects are enhanced with a similar lifestyle. The facts are presented in this article about the composition and effects of alcohol on the human body and culture. One ought to take into consideration whether the rewards outweigh the risk of drinking alcohol, and if so, what quality and quantity. Whatever the position, one cannot deny the benefits of healthy, active
In the 1600's and 1700's, the American colonists drank large quantities of beer, rum, wine, and hard cider. These alcoholic beverages were often safer to drink than impure water or unpasteurized milk and also less expensive than coffee or tea. By the 1820's, people in the United States were drinking, on the average, the equivalent of 7 gallons of pure alcohol per person each year (“drinkingprohibition” 1). As early as the seventeenth century, America was showing interest towards prohibition. Some people, including physicians and ministers, became concerned about the extent of alcohol use (“There was one...” 1). They believed that drinking alcohol damaged people's health and moral behavior, and promoted poverty. People concerned about alcohol use u...
Between the World and Me is a piece of non-fiction literature written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, an award-winning author, journalist, and educator. Coates writes about numerous controversial topics such as cultural, social and political issues, and particularly discusses the issues as they pertain to African Americans. Between the World and Me takes the form of a letter from Mr. Coates to his son, and speaks upon the social, economic, and historical context among black people, and young black men in particular who live in America. The introduction of the work begins with Coates’s response to a question asked by an interviewer regarding the relationship between violence and being black in America. Throughout his work as a response to the interviewers
A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain is survey medieval Spain, where Christians, Jews, and Muslims once lived side by side and the Muslims were in charge. The book tries to lead the reader to the conclusion that there is indeed a historical precedent for the three major religions establishing a beneficially symbiotic relationship which may be an enduring lesson for coexistence. The author, Chris Lowney, is an ex-Jesuit and holds degrees in medieval history and philosophy.
Generally speaking, other alcoholic beverages can be viewed as being a substitute for wine. However, specific substitution of wine in the New World is low because most individuals prefer to purchase wine from a retail facility instead of producing their own. Where as in the Old World the option of producing wine...
“Although tragedy and loss are regrettable commonplace, we aren’t measured by what happens to us but rather by how we respond to it” written by Steve Pemberton in A Chance in the World. This is my favorite quote from the novel. A Chance in the World was an eye opening book for me to read, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Many things stood out to me in the book, one being that each chapter would start with a quote from a different book, and that related back to how much books saved his life. Another thing that stood out to me was how throughout the chapter he would ask himself questions, and those questions were never answered but it was like he was sharing his thoughts with reader. The reason these book was eye opening was because my father, gave up his parental rights at age five because of drugs, and even though our situations are only slightly similar hearing his story and how he overcame all his struggles made me realize how I can get over my own problems with the past. The novel was a tear jerker from reading how the Robinsons abused him, how he first struggled with college and how each side of his family had so much pain and sorrow. Steve Pemberton overcame every