History of Food - Softcover

"This book is not only impressive for the knowledge it provides, it is unique in its integration of historical anecdotes and factual data. It is a marvellous reference to a great many topics." Raymond Blanc, Restauranter Writer "Remarkable one-volume survey of a vast subject." Stephen Mennell, Monash University "Indispensable, and an endlessly fascinating book. The view is staggering. Not a book to digest at one or several sittings. Savor it instead, one small slice at a time, accompanied by a very fine wine." New York Times "Quirky, encyclopaedic, and hugely entertaining. A delight." Sunday Telegraph "Readable and scholarly, profound and humorous." Ventura County Star Free Press "One of the most important works on the subject to date and is a comprehensive reference. Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat is an accomplished writer, journalist and historian. Every serious culinary library should include this book. I unreservedly recommend its 801 pages to you." Association Mondiale de la Gastronomie "The book makes one want to go into the kitchen, to cook and to eat. It is beautifully produced and the price is excellent." Oxford Magazine "Gorgeous and unusually thought-provoking. I loved it." The Age "This is a remarkable book, full of information culled from serious research." Nature "An important contribution to the history of food." The Journal of European Economic History "A History of Food is a monumental work, a prodigious feat of careful scholarship, patient research and attention to detail. Full of astonishing but insufficiently known facts." Times Higher Education Supplement "Anyone interested in food, its origins, and how skilled craftsmen and tradesmen held the key to the long evolution of the present day status of food, would enjoy this book." ATEA Journal "The author is a journalist and cultural historian, whose forte is the medieval and renaissance culture of Europe, especially the domestic economies, food and clothing. This is her eighteenth book and most likely her magnum opus. It is a thoroughgoing, comprehensive and encyclopedic reference book that covers the history of foodstuffs from as far back as the sources would allow, interspersed with the often bumpy road of their acceptance. The book is well organized, following the development of human self-preservation from hunger through gathering and hunting to domesticated animals and settled farming ... The author did a magnificent job of providing information that entailed an incredible amount of research ... The book belongs to every public and academic library, and on the book shelves of all people with curious minds. It rightfully received the History Prize of the Societe des gens de lettres de France." International Journal of World Peace "It's the best book when you are looking for very clear but interesting stories. Everything is cross-referenced to an extraordinary degree, which is great because the information given is so complex and interweaving." The Independent

The story of cuisine and the social history of eating is a fascinating one, and Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat covers all its aspects in this definitive history. She looks at the transition from a vegetable - to an increasingly meat-based diet, as well as at the relationship between people and what they eat, between particular foods and social behavior and between dietary habits and methods of cooking.