"...a worthwhile read. Nabhan achieved what he set out to in this book, and brings to light a cultural historical geography of spices and people that has not, to my knowledge, been pulled together in quite the way he has done before."-- "AAG Review of Books"
"Anyone who has traveled ancient routes, or dreamed of doing so, will find deep satisfaction in Cumin, Camels and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey."-- "Forbes"
"Richly embroidered with detail, Cumin, Camels, and Caravans by scholar Gary Paul Nabhan is part history, part geography, part cookbook, and part travel memoir. . . . Interspersed with recipes from various stops on historical spice routes, Nabhan discusses the botany, linguistic history, and trade history of each substance, but far from being dry accounts, they bring the wonder of many ingredients we now view as commonplace into focus; Nabhan's painstaking research has not eclipsed an evident natural knack for storytelling."-- "Saveur"
"Nabhan is the ideal travelling companion. With an ancestry that stretches back to the spice-trading Nabheni tribe of Oman, Nabhan is by profession an ethnobotanist and food writer with a clutch of culinary history books under his belt. And he wears his erudition lightly. Although the book is referenced like an academic tome, it reads like a detective story - albeit one with generous pinches of exotic smells and alluring flavours thrown in. Spiced locusts, anyone?"-- "History Today"
"Heady historical and cultural study of ancient trade routes. . . . Nabhan adds pungent pinches of botany and gastronomy."
-- "Nature"
"Gary Paul Nabhan, a food scholar and prolific author, is the guide on a journey that also travels through subjects as diverse as botany and archaeology. Even when following well-worn paths, he is never a dull host. . . . While the book is ostensibly about spices, what holds it together is a deeper sense of distance from nature and the deep past, a force that continues to impel pilgrims, travellers and even foodies towards distant and exotic places."-- "Times Higher Education"
"Gary Paul Nabhan weaves a fascinating story." -- "Santa Fe New Mexican"
"This book is a singular achievement . . . . A most absorbing book and highly recommended."
-- "Chicago Botanic Garden"