There is a lot of interesting anecdotes about spices, their history, and uses, but this is not at all a rigorous study, but a very idiosyncratic view which excludes about the same number of facts as it includes and includes complete speculation as fact. ( )

A fascinating tale of the relationship between the spice trade and culinary imperialism. The author's family lineage dates back to the time they were spice traders in the Arabian peninsula. Frankincense was discussed very knowledgeably and was a fascinating story in itself.

Nabhan writes of how trading in spice and precious plant products predates the Christian era (CE) of records. His work and those of his colleagues, Gene Anderson, Paul Buell (an ethnobotanist and a food historian, respectively) have credibly demonstrated that the uncanny similarities between recipes in disparate parts of the world point to a cuisine-based dissemination of knowledge.

Nabhan's book often wanders from point to point and back again, occasionally devolving into arcane aspects of history that may not interest the casual reader. However, there was much to gain from reading the book and certainly new insights about how Asian and North American centres of origin for specific crops came to be so widely dispersed. ( )