Crystals of Life - The Story Of Salt

Readers of this book will discover that salt is a vast subject. In 1882 a native in British East Africa approached a tourist. "Would bwana care to buy my daughter? Cheap. Only four loaves salt." Today we do not value salt and human life in the same terms. But man has been, and still is, dependent upon salt for a variety of reasons. The first reason is that salt is a biological necessity. Take it away and life, both human and animal, would perish. Salt was one of the man's first articles of trade. At one time it even served as a form of money. It played a part in early religious ceremonies in social customs. In a fascinating and informative way Robert Kraske tells the history of the uses of salt, of the refinement of this vital substance, and the importance of salt to man's and other animals well being. Chapter 1 - So Universal, So Necessary to Life 13 Chapter 2 - When the Earth Was Young 25 Chapter 3 - The Great Mystery: Why Man Needs Salt 35 Chapter 4 - War, Taxes, and Salt 41 Chapter 5 - Pans, Pots, and Wells: Man Learns to Make Salt 53 Chapter 6 - How Man Produces Salt Today 81 Chapter 7 - Fourteen Thousand Everyday Uses 117 Chapter 8 - What of the Future? 137 Index 141