Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World [Hardcover]

The author traces the origins of rum (rumbullion, rumbustion, kill devil) from its semi-documented origins in Barbados in the mid 17th century to current day. He discusses the various impacts the liquor has had through the ages on slavery, economics, trade, religion, prohibition, military and holidays. While much of the book is entertaining reading, there were times when I had to force my way through chapters to get back into the rhythm.

I cannot legitimately question much of the factual nature of the author's work. However, being somewhat well read on the topic of pirates, I can say that the author has used fairly superficial research and reported stories that are not necessarily true. That said, this was not a book on pirates; it is about rum, and I have to leave it to those more knowledgeable in other areas to comment on the general factuality of the book.

One item sadly missing from the book is an index of the recipes which the author kindly includes at the end of each chapter. By way of remedy, I include the following:

Mount Gay Rum Punch, Barbados Recipe - p.23
Hot Grog - p.51
Spicy Baked Beans with Rum and Molasses - p.64
Bombo - p.80
West Indian Rum Beef Stew - p.80
Barbados Planter Punch - p.107
Banana Bread - p.107
Moose Milk - p.123
Medford Rum Toddy - p.124
Apple Tansy - p.124
Kubecake - p.139
Mauritius Rum Punch (Cold) - p.161
Mauritius Rum Punch (Hot) - p.161
Poudine du Pain (Bread Pudding) - p.162
Voodoo Love Potion Cocktail - p.177
Mannish Water (Goat Head Soup) - p.177
Irish Christmas Rum Punch - p.193
Tom and Jerry - p.193
Christmas Eggnog - p.194
Puerto Rican Coconut Milk-Rum Christmas Drink (Coquito) - p.194
Hot Buttered Rum - p.194
Black Bean Soup with Rum - p.195
Ceia de Natal (Brazilian Christmas Turkey) - p.196
Ginger Rum Glazed Ham - p.196
Jamaican Dark Rum Christmas Fruitcake - p.197
Ukrainian Rum Baba - p.198
Christmas Rum Balls - p.199
Kulich - p.200
Traditional Christmas Pudding - p.201
Cumberland Rum Butter - p.203
Plum Rum Cake - p.203
Rumless Hot Buttered Rum - p.233
Bacardi Cocktail - p.233
Cuban Black Bean Soup - p.234
Between the Sheets - p.245
Sweet Potato Pudding - p.246
Cuba Libre - p.263
Mai Tai - p.263
Zombie - p.264
Original Daiquiri - p.264
Frozen Blue Daiquiri - p.264
Banana Daiquiri - p.265
Pina Colada - p.265
Pina Colada Bread - p.265
Rum and Pepper Painted Fish with Habanero-Mango Mojo - p.266
Habanero-Mango Mojo - p.266
Black Bean and Fruit Salsa - p.267

Bottom line, read it with an open mind and compare notes with other books. And, enjoy a good tot of rum while doing it.

I enjoyed this book in that it caused me to think about how something relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things can have such a tremendous impact on world history. Mr. Coulombe does an excellent job of tracing the history of rum from its origins in the 1600's through to the present day. The importance of rum in the Triangle Trade and the development of Colonial America is detailed in an interesting, yet scholarly manner. As an added bonus, the author includes rum-based recipes for mixed drinks and food items. If you are interested in the development of the American Colonial economic base, slavery, piracy on the high seas, or just how rum is made, this book will fill the bill.

This book was a lot of fun. Anyone that loves history but hates long tedious reads is sure to love this book. It outlines rum's role in Colonialism, Piracy, Religion, Military, Prohibition, and the Mafia. I only wish it could have been a little more in depth on each subject. Especially on the lost chapter where he gives a small guide to rums of the world.

Not sure what the other reviewer was saying when it got stuck in places and he lost his rythm. Maybe he should read with his fingers. He did give a list of all the recipes so maybe he isn't so bad after all.

If you like history and you like rum then get this book!!!