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Title: The Taste of Conquest

Subtitle: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice

Author: Michael Krondl

Narrator: Todd McLaren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-05-07

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 80 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Written in a colorful style that will appeal to fans of Mark Kurlansky and Michael Pollan, this ambitious yet accessible book travels effortlessly from the Crusades to the present day. Michael Krondl explains that it was the desire for spices that got international trade up and running on a scale that had never occurred prior to that time. This explosive growth of the spice trade led to the successive rise and fall of Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam.

Krondl, a gifted food writer, travels to each of these great cities and begins his visit with a great meal. Gradually, he merges the menu he's enjoying with the city's colorful past, and listeners are off on a gastronomical tour that teaches them not only about food and spice but also about history and commerce.

Critic Reviews:

"The Taste of Conquest is the savory story of the rise and fall of three spice-trading cities. It is filled with rich aromas and piquant tastes from the past that still resonate today. Michael Krondl serves up this aromatic tale with zest and verve. This book isn't just for historians and spice lovers - it's for all who love good writing and great stories." (Andrew F. Smith, editor, The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink)

Members Reviews:

Not spicey.

With a subject as interesting as the history of spice, this was unfortunately a bit of a dull listen. However the pronunciation of the reader was annoying at times especially with the Dutch words which could not even be recognized by a native speaker. Why not check with someone prior to venturing out on a project like this?

not so tasty

Although I heard the author interviewed on the radio where he and the subject sounded fascinating, we were not enthralled with the book or the reader. The book seemed in serious need of an editor. And the reader had such strange pronunciations on words in French, Italian, Spanish and - yes - even English that we were being constantly thrown off balance. After about an hour, we gave it up as a loss. Alas.

Not that bad.

I thought this was actually an interesting book. I'm interested in Venetian and Portuguese history, and this has some interesting insights. Also, the spice trade is a fascinating historical episode. The author obviously knows what he is talking about when it comes to food, and it is a novel idea having a chef as a historian working through food.

I have to agree with the other reviewers, though... the narrator can't pronounce his way out of a wet paper bag. But, I guess I'm more inclined to overlook something like that if the book itself is intersting.

Sloppy narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

There were so many food-related mis-pronunciations by the narrator that is was annoying: galangale, confit. Not very good research or practice and his part and sloppy editing!

In general, the book was well written and kept my attention, but I will avoid other works narrated by Todd McLaren.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Todd McLaren?

Someone with food knowledge

Was The Taste of Conquest worth the listening time?

Historical significance

Not bad

Author interview on the radio was more fascinating than book. Was looking for a little more history and a little less spice.