Cumin, camels, and caravans : a spice odyssey / Gary Paul Nabhan.

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2014]

xiv, 305 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm.

Introduction : The origin of "species"-- Aromas emanating from the driest of places -- Caravans leaving Arabia Felix -- Uncovering hidden outposts in the desert -- Omanis rocking the cradle of civilization -- Mecca and the migrations of Muslim and Jewish traders -- Merging the spice routes with the Silk Roads -- The flourishing of cross-cultural collaboration in Iberia -- The crumbling of convivencia and the rise of transnational guilds -- Building bridges between continents and cultures -- Navigating the maritime silk roads from China to Africa -- Vasco da Gama mastering the game of globalization -- Crossing the drawbridge over the eastern ocean -- Epilogue : Culinary imperialism and its alternatives.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-292) and index.