
The History of Bread (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Ancient Grains, Baking Traditions, and the Cultural, Economic, and Technological Story of Humanity's Daily BreadBy John AshtonLength3h 50m
About this audiobook
John Ashton's *The History of Bread* traces the loaf from antiquity to the modern industrial age, treating bread not merely as a food but as a central instrument of civilization. Drawing on historical records, social customs, legislation, religious symbolism, and technological change, Ashton examines cultivation, milling, baking, trade, and consumption across different periods. His style is broadly historical and richly anecdotal, combining documentary exposition with lively details about popular habits, prices, scarcity, and social conflict. The work belongs to the Victorian and Edwardian tradition of material and social history, in which ordinary objects illuminate the structures of everyday life. Ashton was a prolific writer of popular history whose interests extended to customs, amusements, domestic life, and the experiences of people often overlooked by conventional political narratives. His fascination with the past's tangible practices clearly informs this study: bread becomes a way to investigate agricultural organization, urban growth, poverty, public health, religious observance, and the relationship between technological progress and human welfare. His accessible scholarship reflects an era increasingly attentive to the historical significance of common life. Recommended for readers of food history, social history, and the history of technology, *The History of Bread* offers an unusually expansive account of a familiar staple. It will particularly reward readers interested in how economic systems and cultural meanings converge in everyday objects, while its wealth of curious examples makes it engaging for general readers as well as students and researchers.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.7 (46)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon
GenreHistory
Length3 hrs 50 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 13, 2022
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The History of Bread (Annotated)
2Preface
3Chapter I: Pre-Historic Bread
4Chapter II: Corn in Egypt and Assyria
5Chapter III: Bread in Palestine
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6Chapter IV: The Bread of the Classic Lands
7Chapter V: Bread in Eastern Lands
8Chapter VI: Bread in Europe and America
9Chapter VII: Early English Bread
10Chapter VIII: How Grain Becomes Flour
11Chapter IX: The Miller and His Tolls
12Chapter X: Bread Making and Baking
13Chapter XI: Ovens Ancient and Modern
14Chapter XII: The Religious Use of Bread
15Chapter XIII: Ginger Bread and Charity Bread
16Chapter XIV: Bread Riots
17Chapter XV: Legends About Bread
18Memorable Quotes