A History of the World in 6 Glasses

Full disclosure: I skipped the chapters about spirits and tea because I had fairly recently read books that covered these topics, and I had no interest in rehashing those histories. Also, I skipped the chapter on soft drinks because I have zero interest in that type of beverage.

So I read about beer, wine, coffee, and of course the epilogue. And it was great! Every part was short and snappy, drawing clear lines between the beverages and the historical events; nothing seemed forced in from left field, and none of it was so detailed that I lost the narrative. It's the type of non-fiction book that you can read at the end of a long day and still find it relaxing. My favorite chapter was about coffee because the coffeehouses sound like a lot of fun. I'm going to try to track down “Penny Universities” to read more on these establishments, per the author's suggestion in the notes.