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Andrew Dalby
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Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spicesby Andrew DalbyISBN 0520236742 (0-520-23674-2)
Softcover, Univ of California Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices'Book summary:Spices and aromatics--the powerful, pleasurable, sensual ingredients used in foods, drinks, scented oils, perfumes, cosmetics, and drugs--have long been some of the most sought-after substances in the course of human history. In various forms, spices have served as appetizers, digestives, antiseptics, therapeutics, tonics, and aphrodisiacs. Dangerous Tastes explores the captivating history of spices and aromatics: the fascination that they have aroused in us, and the roads and seaways by which trade in spices has gradually grown. Andrew Dalby, who has gathered information from sources in many languages, explores each spice, interweaving its general history with the story of its discovery and various uses.[via]
Dalby concentrates on traditional spices that are still part of world trade: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, saffron, and chili. He also discusses aromatics that are now little used in food but still belong to the spice trade and to traditional medicine: frankincense, myrrh, aloes-wood, balsam of Mecca. In addition, Dalby considers spices that were once important but that now are almost forgotten: long pepper, cubebs, grains of Paradise.
Dangerous Tastes relates how the Aztecs, who enjoyed drinking hot chocolate flavored with chili and vanilla, sometimes added annatto (a red dye) to the drink. This not only contributed to the flavor but colored the drinker's mouth red, a reminder that drinking cacao was, in Aztec thought, parallel with drinking blood. In the section on ambergris, Dalby tells how different cultures explained the origin of this substance: Arabs and Persians variously thought of it as solidified sea spray, a resin that sprung from the depths of the sea, or a fungus that grows on the sea bed as truffles grow on the roots of trees. Some Chinese believed it was the spittle of sleeping dragons. Dalby has assembled a wealth of absorbing information into a fertile human history that spreads outward with the expansion of human knowledge of spices worldwide.More editions of Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices:
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Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Guide to More Than 400 Languagesby Andrew DalbyISBN 0231115687 (0-231-11568-7)
Hardcover, Columbia Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Guide to More Than 400 Languages'Book summary:Approximately how many languages compose the Bantu language group of central and southern Africa? What is the name of the language spoken in Hawaii by an estimated two thousand people? What Western European language is not known to be related to any other language family in the world -- and is considered by linguists to be one of the most difficult to learn?
These are only a few of the questions language lovers, linguists, and lay readers will be able to answer with the Dictionary of Languages -- an easy-to-navigate, authoritative guide to the world's languages and language groups at the end of the twentieth century. Andrew Dalby had the needs and interests of general readers in mind when he compiled this comprehensive reference work -- most other language guides are written for scholars, and many include little or none of the absorbing social, cultural, geographic, and historical details that are brought together here.
In the Dictionary of Languages, readers will find:
"a selection of four hundred languages and language groups, arranged alphabetically, with rich, detailed descriptions of the genesis, development, and current status of each;
"more than two hundred maps displaying where the languages are spoken today;
"sidebars showing alphabets, numerals, and other enriching facts
"a comprehensive index listing additional languages, guiding readers to the nearest language groups with full writeups and maps;
"charts breaking down large language groups -- such as Bantu or Austroasiatic languages -- by geographic region and approximate number of speakers.
In a world where geopolitical boundaries often explain little about the people that live within them, where we may read about Kurd and Khmer in the same newspaper and be expected to be conversant about each -- if not conversant in each -- Dalby's single, information-packed volume helps us make sense of the rich mosaic of world languages.
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Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languagesby Andrew DalbyISBN 0231115695 (0-231-11569-5)
Softcover, Columbia Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages'Book summary:This new tome of tongues is one of the most remarkable general reference works of the century. From Abkhaz and Abaza (300,000 speakers in Georgia, Turkey, and Russia) to Zulu (8,800,000 speakers in South Africa and Lesotho), Dalby comprehensively details more than 400 languages (living and dead), arranged A-to-Z for easy access, and delving into the political, social, and historical background of each. In addition, more than 200 maps indicate where the languages are spoken today, while sidebars show alphabets, numerals, and anecdotes.
If you've got even a passing interest in linguistics, this work of erudition is addictively browsable. In the entry on Greek is an insert on the dialect of Tsakonian. Spoken only in an inaccessible mountain district in the Peloponnese, it's a direct descendant of the ancient Greek Doric dialect. And Fulani is spoken by some 15,000,000 individuals in West Africa, thanks to the migrant, pastoral lifestyle of the Fulani people, which spread the language across the Western Sudan such that it is now a national language in Guinea, Niger, and Mali. The section on Australian languages notes that when Europeans first began to explore the continent, there were about 300 languages spoken by the people who lived there, with up to 12 existing on the island of Tasmania alone. In addition, Dalby explains "mother-in-law languages," separate speech registers that most Australian tongues have, with different vocabulary and sometimes even different sound patterns, for use in the presence of a taboo relative, such as a man's mother-in-law.
Honorary Librarian at the Institute of Linguists and a regular contributor to their journal The Linguist, Andrew Dalby makes it both easy and inviting to learn about the languages of the world. --Stephanie Gold [via]
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Empire of Pleasures: Luxury and Indulgence in the Roman Worldby Andrew DalbyISBN 0415280737 (0-415-28073-7)
Softcover, Routledge
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Empire of Pleasures: Luxury and Indulgence in the Roman World'Book summary:Empire of Pleasures presents an evocative survey of the sensory culture of the Roman Empire, showing how the Romans themselves depicted their food, wine and entertainments in literature and in art.
This fascinating journey envelops the reader in a world devoted to the titillation and fulfilment of the senses, allowing them to recapture the Empire as it was sensed and imagined by those who lived in it. It will fascinate and entrance anyone with a love of the classical world [via]More editions of Empire of Pleasures: Luxury and Indulgence in the Roman World:
Food in the Ancient World from A to Zby Andrew DalbyISBN 0415232597 (0-415-23259-7)
Hardcover, Routledge
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Language in Dangerby Andrew DalbyISBN 0713994436 (0-7139-9443-6)
Hardcover, A. Lane
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Language in Danger: The Loss of Linguistic Diversity and the Threat to Our Futureby Andrew DalbyISBN 0231129009 (0-231-12900-9)
Hardcover, Columbia Univ Pr
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Medical Abstracts and Indicesby Andrew DalbyISBN 0521282616 (0-521-28261-6)
Softcover, Cambridge University Press
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Rediscovering Homer: Inside the Origins of the Epicby Andrew DalbyISBN 0393330192 (0-393-33019-2)
Softcover, W W Norton & Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Rediscovering Homer: Inside the Origins of the Epic'Book summary:"Dalby's book and his bibliography provide a superb introduction to the debate surrounding these poems."Lisa Montanarelli, San Francisco Chronicle
Scholar Andrew Dalby delves into the world that first heard the Odyssey and the Iliad, asking new questions about the poet named Homer. Rediscovering Homer follows the growth of the legend of Troy from a kernel of historical truth into an unforgettable story that a succession of singers re-created for generations of audiences. Dalby asks why and how the two great epics crossed the frontier from song to writing while finding new approaches to the personality of Homer and showing how the earliest evidence has been misread. He makes a powerful case that both poems are the work of a single poet, but it is his conclusion that will surprise even serious classical scholars: Homer was most likely a woman. [via]More editions of Rediscovering Homer: Inside the Origins of the Epic:
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Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greeceby Andrew DalbyISBN 0415156572 (0-415-15657-2)
Softcover, Routledge
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece'Book summary:Cheese, wine, honey and olive oil - four of Greece's best known contributions to culinary culture - were already well known 4,000 years ago. Remains of honeycombs and of cheeses have been found under the volcanic ash of the Santorini eruption of 1627 BC. Over the millennia, Greek food diversified and absorbed neighbouring traditions, yet retained its own distinctive character. This social history of Greek food begins with the tunny fishers of the neolithic age, and traces the story through the repertoire of classical Greece, the reputations of Lydia for luxury and of Sicily and South Italy for sybaritism, to the Imperial synthesis of varying traditions, with a look forward to the Byzantine cuisine and the development of the modern Greek menu. The apples of the Hesperides turn out to be lemons, and great favour attaches to Byzantine biscuits. This study seeks to demonstrate the social construction placed upon different types of food at different periods. [via]
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