Coal: A Human History

9 best books like Coal: A Human History (Barbara Freese): Oxygen: The Molecule That Made the World, Salt: A World History, Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis, The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, Butter: A Rich History, The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age

Oxygen: The Molecule That Made the World

Author	Nick Lane
ISBN	0198607830

In Oxygen, Nick Lane takes the reader on an enthralling journey as he unravels the unexpected ways in which oxygen spurred the evolution of life and death. He shows how oxygen underpins the origin of biological complexity, the birth of photosynthesis, the sudden evolution of animals, the need for two...

Salt: A World History

Author	Mark Kurlansky
ISBN	0142001619

From the Bestselling Author of Cod and The Basque History of the World

In his fifth work of nonfiction, Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story...

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World

Author	Mark Kurlansky
ISBN	0099268701

The Cod. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been triggered by it, national diets have been based on it, economies and livelihoods have depended on it. To the millions it has sustained, it has been a treasure more precious that gold. This book spans 1,000 years and four continents. From the...

A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis

Author	David M. Friedman
ISBN	0142002593

Whether enemy or ally, demon or god, the penis is much more than a body part. Here, in an enlightening and entertaining cultural study, is a book that puts into context the central role of the penis within Western civilization. Deified by ancient pagan cultures and demonized by the early Roman church,...

The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation

Author	Mark Kurlansky
ISBN	0140298517

From Mark Kurlansky, the bestselling author of Cod, Salt, and Birdseye—the illuminating story of an ancient and enigmatic people.

Straddling a small corner of Spain and France in a land that is marked on no maps except their own, the Basques are a puzzling contradiction—they are Europe's...

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English

Author	John McWhorter
ISBN	1592403956

A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar

Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics...

An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States

Author

Charles A. Beard

In this famous study, the author turned the hagiography of many earlier American historians on its head. Unlike those writers, who had stressed idealistic impulses as factors determining the structure of the American government, Beard questioned the Founding Fathers' motivations in drafting...

Butter: A Rich History

Author	Elaine Khosrova
ISBN	1616203641

It’s a culinary catalyst, an agent of change, a gastronomic rock star. Ubiquitous in the world’s most fabulous cuisines, butter is boss. Here, it finally gets its due.

After traveling across three continents to stalk the modern story of butter, award-winning food writer and former pastry...

The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age

Author	David N. Schwartz
ISBN	0465072925

In 1942, a team at the University of Chicago achieved what no one had before: a nuclear chain reaction. At the forefront of this breakthrough stood Enrico Fermi. Straddling the ages of classical physics and quantum mechanics, equally at ease with theory and experiment, Fermi truly was the last man who...