Salt: A World History

Do you agree with Kurlansky’s quote that “The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it?” Why or why not? 

By the end of the book, and based on your own experience, do you believe that salt is healthy or unhealthy?  

What did you notice about the evolution of the recipes presented in the book? 

Were you aware of the salt movement’s importance in India’s struggle for independence? What impressed you about Gandhi’s actions in this context? 

How did you react to the various examples of unjust salt taxation? Would you have been outraged enough to rebel against a government?

Is salt as important in your own life as it is in the lives of those presented in the book? Why or why not?

In the beginning of the book, how did you feel about Kurlansky’s statement that baby formula contains three forms of salt? Did you feel differently by the end of the book? 

What parallels do you see between America’s obsession with salt and its obsession with oil?