Spice Trails: In The Footsteps of Nutmeg and Cloves

Spice Trails: In the Footsteps of Nutmeg and Cloves, is a romp through the fragrant underbelly of the spice trade, written for anyone who’s ever smelled the distinctive bitterness of cloves or gazed at sticks of cinnamon, wondering how many people died for them.  

This isn’t just a book; it’s a traveller’s spice rack, a wandering gourmand’s tumble through the pungent back alleys of history’s most seductive trade.

The fabled Spice Islands “discovery” caused a 200+ year battleground between the Dutch, English, French and Spanish for control of the trade in nutmeg and cloves.

There are whimsical anecdotes including scorpion stings, flat tyres, travelling through the jungle with the headhunters in Sarawak, eating snail porridge in Singapore and watching the first part of the Ramayana Ballet under the full moon at the Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta.

It’s part history, part travelogue, and part culinary love letter – a passport for the mind and a seasoning for the soul. If you’ve ever thought history was dry, this will soak it in spice oil and light it on fire.

This isn’t just a book to read; it’s a book to sniff, to taste, to devour.

If you’re a fan of history, humour, and the occasional insight into the world-shaking power of condiments, buy it for yourself, for your spice rack, or as a passive-aggressive hint for those culinarily challenged friends or family in your life.