{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "What was with that sudden fad of books about how cod/coal/sugar/salt/cotton/etc shaped history/ was it just that one got popular...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/175495466083/", "html": "<div class=\"question\"><strong>apricops</strong> asked: What was with that sudden fad of books about how cod/coal/sugar/salt/cotton/etc shaped history/ was it just that one got popular and so others joined in?</div>\n<p>Well <a href=\"#%E2%80%9Chttp://www.powells.com/book/-9780393317558%E2%80%9D\" target=\"_blank\">Guns Germs &amp; Steel</a> was a hit and they thought what if we packaged it as separate \u201cGuns\u201d, \u201cGerms\u201d, and \u201cSteel\u201d SKUs?</p>"}