Nathaniel's Nutmeg

Way too much use of original sources quotes. Now normally this is a great thing, but in this case the quotes use the original 1600s spelling - highly distracting. Also, this book is a bit of a bummer. Heavy on describing torture, light on describing any successes.

Engaging and informative, this history of the English-Dutch conflict over the spice trade kept my interest throughout the book. I had known a little about how important spices were, and how the search for a new way to the Far East led to Columbus' voyages, but I didn't know all the details about the hardships the merchants and sailors went through.