The World In Six Glasses Analysis

The Drink of reason, coffee, seems to not have changed much culturally to this day, as when it is brought to the table over 250 years ago (pg. 170). Coffee remains to be the drink over which people meet

History has a funny way of finding significance in what we think to be some of the more common or arbitrary things. We look for great historical events from leaders, wars, peace, and death. But what about the smaller, simpler things in life, ones that we so often ignore. It is those things that have shaped our history, from the beginning of time even until today. To truly understand history we must look at something many of us think nothing of, what we drink. What we drink is such an important part of how we live, how we act, and how we have changed as humans.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage is about six drinks (beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and coca-cola) and how they have affected the world in the past and the present. All of these drinks were invented in different eras, and the inventions of these drinks were affected by what had occurred in the time period.

A) Unlike alcohol’s intoxicating effect, which made people sleepy and dulled their minds, coffee woke people up and made scientists, clerks, merchants and other businessmen more alert throughout the long workday. Coffeehouses also became places for people to exchange and listen to new ideas and theories in areas such as natural history, chemistry,

According to the author, every specific alcoholic beverages has certain symbolic meaning and it can be proved by different kinds of beverages in different country, based on their own culture background.

readers that drinks have had a greater impact on history than normally recognized. The fluids are

Are there any other beverages that influenced the history of the world or any others that are representative of a particular time period? While Standage mentions seven beverages that represent certain time periods, there are more drinks than the seven that he listed, and any of those other beverages could also have a similar impact to the seven he listed.

The book talks about six drinks; beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and coco-cola. From the third millennium BCE to twentieth century, the drinks changed human history. Tom Standage tells how it was made, the origins, what countries the drink spreads to, and how it change human civilizations. The human civilizations changes includes agriculture, wars, and trading. Also, writing and culture changes because of these drinks. Another thing, how the brain changes under the influence of alcohol and caffeine and if it was socially accepted to go in the places where the drinks was serve. The book includes how important or famous people was affected by the drink.

In the chapters “A Stone-Age Brew” and “Civilized Beer” from the book A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage describes how beer affected the lives of the first humans who lived in year-round settlements and later in the first civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Beer played a significant role in turning the first humans from hunter gatherers to farmers. Beer was discovered in the Fertile Crescent around 12,000 years ago, when gruel derived from gathered grains (a staple food) that was in storage fermented. These ancient groups of hunter-gatherers found this beverage “slightly fizzy and pleasantly intoxicating” (Standage 15) and realized it was more easily made than other alcoholic drinks. Over time, the quality and variety of beer increased by trial and error.

The two rivers are Tigris and Euphrates River which roughly correspond with modern day Iraq.

One does not consider the origin and history of a alcoholic drink during a celebratory event nor does one consider the effects it has created in society when reaching the bottom of their glass. Journalist and author, Thomas Standage in his non-fiction text, A History of the World in 6 Glasses, describes the great impact of beer, wine, and spirits on civilizations. Standages purpose is to explain how these alcholic drinks marked political, social, and intellectual revolutions that influenced modern day society. Particularly, wine caused major social and agricultural turning points in the Greek and Roman empires. Standage adopts a celebratory and admireful tone in order to convince the readers of wines pivotal role in history.

Beverage Prompts BEER 1. How is the discovery of beer linked to the growth of the first “civilizations”? The discovery of beer is linked to the growth of the first civilizations because it came into existence during time when people were switching from nomadic to settled lifestyles, giving them the opportunity to create civilizations. Beer became the center for everything including religion, and economics.

There are many ways to look at history. Many perspectives from the past that form today. Tom Standage chose to discuss about drinks and how they helped shape the world. In his book, A History of the World in Six Glasses, Standage examines the most popular 6 drinks throughout history to describe how they influenced the development of the world. He takes the reader on an odyssey from the mesopotamian era to the 21st century and from beer to Coca Cola, proving that what was thought to be irrelevant to history has affected it by sparking revolutions and advancing scientific and intellectual movements. One wonders after reading this book if a pen and a paper or a spoon and a knife have their own history that has helped shape the world in another

Though it might not be apparent at first glace, beverages other than water have played a vital role in the development of our world. In A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Standage sheds light on the vital importance of the six most influential non-water beverages in human history. As he states, “The availability of water constrained and guided humankind’s progress. Drinks have continued to shape human history ever since” (Standage 1). Drinks have influenced every aspect of humanity, from civilization to medicine to trade. Though each of the six beverages discussed in A History of the World in 6 Glasses had vastly different affects, they all influenced humanity in dramatic ways.

Beer and wine might have been one of the first drinks that caused humans to civilize and create a great community. In fact Tom Standage introduces us to this idea of these early drinks shaping human culture in his book A History of a World in Six Glasses. As Standage informs us about how beer was one of the causes in early settlement, and why farming was led to a great success because of the use of beer. Standage also mentions a start in traditions and a formation of government due to these drinks. Although beer being very important, Standage also introduces us to wine as a form of a class status that helped man distinguishing barbarism to a world of high standards and manners allowing for the community to become more cultured and