The Reader's Advisor

The History of Stuff

Everything you always wanted to know about those hum-drum, mundane things in our lives.

Air
Gasp!: The Swift & Terrible Beauty of Air by Joe Sherman. S&H, 2004. [551.5 Sherman]

Aspirin
Asprin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug by Diarmuid Jeffreys. Bloomsbury, 2004. [615.783 Jeffreys]

Bicycle
Bicycle: The History, by David V. Herlihy. Yale, 2004. [629.227209 Herlihy]

Blood
Five Quarts: A Personal & Natural History of Blood, by Bill Hayes. Ballantine, 2005. [612.11 Hayes]

Caffeine
The World of Caffeine: The Science & Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug, by Bennett Alan Weinberg & Bonnie K. Bealer. Routledge, 2001. [613.84 Weinberg]

Chess
Birth of the Chess Queen: A History, by Marilyn Yalom. HarCol, 2004. [794.196 Yalom]

Chocolate
Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light, by Mort Rosenblum. North Point, 2005. [641.3374 Rosenblum]

Clay
Clay: The History & Evolution of Humankind's Realtionship with Earth's Most Primal Element, by Suzanna Staubach. Berkley, 2005. [620.191 Staubach]

Coins
Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World's Most Valuable Coin, by AAlison Frankel. Norton, 2006. [737.497309 Frankel]

Cochineal
A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire, by Amy Butler Greenfield. HarCol, 2005. [667.26 Freenfield]

Crying
Crying: The Natural & Cultural History of Tears, by Tom Lutz. Norton, 1999. [152.4 Lutz]

Demolition
Rubble: Unearthing the History of Demolition, by Jeff Byles. Harmony, 2005. [690.2606 Byles]

Doughnuts
Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut, by Paul R. Mullins. Univ. Press of Florida, 2008. [641.8653 Mullins]

Dust
Dust: A History of the Small and the Invisible, by Joseph A. Amato. Univ. of CA, 2000. [551.5513 Amato]

Electricity
Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity, by David Bodanis. Crown, 2005. [537 Bodanis]

The Flag
Flag: An American Biography, by Marc Leepson. T. Dunne, 2005. [929.920973 Leepson]

Garbage
Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash, by Susan Strasser. Metropolitan, 1999. [363.728 Strasser]

Gemstones
Jewels: A Secret History, by Victoria Finlay. Ballantine, 2006. [553.8 Finlay]

Glass
Glass: A World History, by Alan Macfarlane & Gerry Martin. Univ. of Chicago, 2002. [666.1 Macfarlane]

Guitar
Guitar: An American Life, by Tom Brookes. Grove, 2005. [641.338 Redclift]

Gunpowder
Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics--The History of the Explosive that Changed the World, by Jack Kelly. Basic, 2004. [662.26 Kelly]

Hamburgers
Hamburger Heaven: the Illustrated History of the Hamburger, by Jeffrey Tennyson. Hyperion, 1993. [338.476479573 Tennyson]

Helicopters
The God Machine: From Boomerangs to Black Hawks--The Story of the Helicopter, by James R. Chiles. Bantam, 2007. [629.133 Chiles]

"Hip"
Hip: The History, by John Leland. Ecco, 2004. [306.9073 Leland]

Hunger
Hunger: An Unnatural History, by Sharman Apt Russell. Basic, 2005. [363.809 Russell]

Ice
Ice: The Nature, the History & the Uses of an Astonishing Substance, by Mariana Gosnell. Knopf, 2005. [551.31 Gosnell]

Ice Cream
Ice Cream: A Global History, by Laura B. Weiss. Reaktion, 2011. [641.862 Weiss]

Marriage
Marriage: A History from Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage, by Stephanie Coontz. Viking, 2005. [306.8109 Coontz]

Mirror
The Mirror: A History, by Sabine Melchoir-Bonnet. Routledge, 2001. [155.91 Melchoir-Bonnet]

Mirror, Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection, by Mark Pendergast. Basic, 2003. [535.323 Pendergast]

Nylon
Nylon: The Story of a Fashion Revolution, by Susannah Handley. Johns Hopkins, 1999. [391.009 Handley]

Pearls
Tears of Mermaids: The Secret Story of Pearls, by Stpehn G. Bloom. St. Martin's, 2009. [338.3714 Bloom]

Swimsuits
Making Waves: The Story of the American Swimsuit, by Lena Lencek. Chronicle, 1988. [394.3 Lencek]

Salt
Salt: A World History, by Mark Kurlansky. Walker, 2001. [333.85632 Kurlansky]

Sand
Sand: The Never-Ending Story, by Micahel Welland. Univ. of CA, 2009. [553.622 Welland]

Screwdriver
One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw, by Witold Rybczynski. Scribner. 2000. [621.972 Rybczynski]

Spice
Spice: The History of a Temptation, by Jack Turner. Knopf, 2004. [641.338309 Turner]

Sunday
Sunday: A History of the First Day from Babylonia to the Super Bowl, by Craig Harline. Doubleday, 2007. [263.3 Harline]

Swimsuits
Making Waves: The Story of the American Swimsuit, by Lena Lencek. Chronicle, 1988. [394.3 Lencek]

The Telescope
Stargazer: The Life & Times of the Telescope, by Fred Watson. Da Capo, 2005. [552.209 Watson]

The Toilet
Flushed With Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper, by Wallace Reyburn. Macdonald & Co., 1969. [B Crapper R]

Typography
Type: The Secret History of Letters, by Simon Loxley. Tauris, 2004. [[686.22409 Loxley]

Umbrellas
A History of the Umbrella, by T. S. Crawford. Taplinger, 1970. [391.44 Crawford]

Vanilla
Vanilla: The Cultural History of the World's Favorite Flavor & Frangrance, by Patricia Rain. Tarcher, 2004. [633.82 Rain]

Water
Life's Matrix: A Biography of Water, by Philip Ball. FSG, 2000. [553.7 Ball]

The Zipper
Zipper: An Exploration in Novelty, by Robert Friedel. Norton, 1994. [609 Friedel]