The bestselling author of "Cod," Kurlansky turns his attention to salt, a common     household item with a long and intriguing history, explaining how salt provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions.

This deeply observed novel of contemporary Vietnam interweavesstories of a venerable soup seller, a young Vietnamese American curator, and an enterprising tour guide in ways that will mark all of their lives forever.

Torres plunges us into the chaotic heart of one family, the intense bonds of three brothers, and the mythic effects of this fierce love on the people we must become.

Drawn from the memoirs, correspondence, and journals of the British literary community from 1910 to WWII