Book Riot 50 Must Read MicroHistory Books (51 books)

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(also yes weirdly there were 51 on the list even though the title of the page was 50)

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1	Tea: The Drink that Changed the World by Laura C. Martin (Goodreads Author) 3.72 avg rating — 582 ratings score: 181, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett (Goodreads Author) 3.82 avg rating — 2,019 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature by Marion Rankine 3.38 avg rating — 130 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit 3.90 avg rating — 6,446 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Bicycle: The History by David V. Herlihy 3.85 avg rating — 231 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Crude: The Story of Oil by Sonia Shah (Goodreads Author) 3.82 avg rating — 190 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese 3.73 avg rating — 2,272 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World by Aja Raden (Goodreads Author) 4.09 avg rating — 3,619 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven Beckert 3.90 avg rating — 3,751 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson (Goodreads Author) 3.86 avg rating — 10,354 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky 3.92 avg rating — 25,215 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky 3.75 avg rating — 76,978 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race by Naben Ruthnum 3.74 avg rating — 470 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner 3.64 avg rating — 2,569 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World by Dan Koeppel 3.81 avg rating — 5,398 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Sugar: A Bittersweet History by Elizabeth Abbott (Goodreads Author) 3.75 avg rating — 434 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova 3.85 avg rating — 1,126 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf by Aaron Bobrow-Strain (Goodreads Author) 3.63 avg rating — 829 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Milk! A 10,000-Year Food Fracas by Mark Kurlansky 3.62 avg rating — 1,903 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast (Goodreads Author) 3.69 avg rating — 3,064 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol by Iain Gately 3.88 avg rating — 926 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times by Don Kladstrup 4.07 avg rating — 686 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky 3.96 avg rating — 5,328 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson 3.99 avg rating — 98,713 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born by Tina Cassidy 4.06 avg rating — 2,961 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach 3.86 avg rating — 60,383 ratings score: 75, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy by Hallie Lieberman (Goodreads Author) 3.81 avg rating — 481 ratings score: 74, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation by Elissa Stein (Goodreads Author) 3.71 avg rating — 1,714 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce by Douglas Starr 4.07 avg rating — 671 ratings score: 72, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Heart: A History by Sandeep Jauhar (Goodreads Author) 4.09 avg rating — 3,569 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.35 avg rating — 55,994 ratings score: 70, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong 4.17 avg rating — 31,853 ratings score: 69, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Pox: An American History by Michael Willrich 3.69 avg rating — 873 ratings score: 68, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.34 avg rating — 114,713 ratings score: 67, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang (Goodreads Author) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 9,979 ratings score: 66, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach 4.06 avg rating — 241,038 ratings score: 65, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History by Bill Schutt (Goodreads Author) 3.90 avg rating — 7,245 ratings score: 64, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr (Goodreads Author) 3.87 avg rating — 2,313 ratings score: 63, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History by Katherine Ashenburg 3.72 avg rating — 2,525 ratings score: 62, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum 4.29 avg rating — 13,790 ratings score: 61, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News by Kevin Young 3.18 avg rating — 1,085 ratings score: 60, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter 4.07 avg rating — 3,203 ratings score: 59, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Red: A History of the Redhead by Jacky Colliss Harvey (Goodreads Author) 3.50 avg rating — 1,525 ratings score: 58, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay 3.79 avg rating — 72,889 ratings score: 57, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World by Catherine E. McKinley 2.99 avg rating — 571 ratings score: 56, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World by Simon Garfield 3.67 avg rating — 1,901 ratings score: 55, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky 3.83 avg rating — 2,973 ratings score: 54, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester 3.84 avg rating — 121,982 ratings score: 53, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance by Henry Petroski 3.80 avg rating — 656 ratings score: 52, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh 4.30 avg rating — 29,022 ratings score: 51, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace by Nikil Saval 3.46 avg rating — 1,153 ratings score: 50, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars