What in the world could be so extraordinary about pepper that men willingly died for it? If you enlarge your historical horizon a bit, and look back just a few centuries, there is nothing at all bizarre about the obstinacy of those pepper seekers. They were dealing with one of the great motive forces of human events. Closely examine any of the great events that have shaped the world as we know it – the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, the Crusades, the discovery of America – and often as not you will find a pungent smell of pepper at its core. Here the story of pepper, briefly told by award- winning journalist Robert Wernick.