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Summary
Summary
A beautifully presented guide to the foods that have had the greatest impact on human civilization.
Though many of the foods in this book are taken for granted and one (the mammoth) is no longer consumed, these foods have kept humans alive for millennia and theirs is a fascinating story.
Like the other titles in this highly-regarded series, this book organizes the fifty foods into short illustrated chapters of fascinating narratives: the "who, where, when, why and how" of each food's introduction and its impact on civilization in one or more cultural, social, commercial, political or military spheres.
These stories span human history, from our hunter-gatherer ancestors to the transatlantic slave trade, from the introduction of frozen foods, prohibition and the rise of the Mafia, to the powdered milk scandal in China. Another example is golden rice, the first genetically modified food developed for the good of humanity rather than solely for profit.
Most of the foods are familiar and their importance obvious, such as bread, sugar, wine, potato, beef and rice. Others are far less obvious. The fifty foods include:
Mammoth - the prehistoric giant hunted to extinction Spartan black broth - the stew that sustained an army Paella - the Moorish origin of jambalaya Hardtack - kept Crusaders and conquerors alive Cassoulet - a French town under siege "makes do" and creates a controversial masterpiece Sugar - European taste for sugar and the transatlantic slave trade that ensued Hamburger - the democratization of the world Bananas - a murky US-EU trade war.Fifty Foods That Changed the Course of History is an informative and entertaining look at how what we eat has made us who we are.
Author Notes
Bill Price is a regular contributor to many international publications and popular reference books. His published works include Tutankhamun: Egypt's Most Famous Pharaoh and History's Greatest Decisions .
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
From the obvious selections such as bread to obscure and no longer eaten items such as Spartan Black Broth, Price (Charles Darwin: Origins and Arguments) takes the reader on a trip through history and around the world as he explores the foods that shaped the world around us. The book begins at the very beginning with speculation that human ancestors may have pit roasted woolly mammoth and works its way forward to the foods that are shaping our society today, such as the genetically modified golden rice developed to address vitamin A deficiency in millions of people in Southeast Asia and Africa. For every food item that is listed, a brief history is provided, explaining how that item came to become such an integral part of cuisine, why it developed, how it evolved, and how it influenced and effected the course of our history. Food plays such a large role in our lives, but seldom do we think about where it came from. In this book, Price illuminates ways that food choices all over the world have actually shaped human history. Readers are bound to look at food with a new appreciation. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In this most recent title in the Fifty Things series from Firefly, Price keenly describes 50 of the most influential foods (including some beverages) throughout history based on five categories: cultural, social, commercial, political, and military. Chronologically arranged essays range from two to eight pages and are bolstered by appetizing images, sidebars, and quotations. Beyond the more common expected foods (e.g., corn, potatoes), Price also expands the menu to include significant items from across the globe, such as kimchi, rendang, and biltong, and also those that impacted culture, such as Swanson TV dinners and Campbell's soup. Topics are well researched, crafting a unique historical narrative of the impact of each ingredient. A bibliography of further reading and an index is included. Recommended for public and school libraries.--Smith, Becca Copyright 2010 Booklist
Excerpts
Excerpts
Introduction The shelves of supermarkets are today stacked high with foods from all over the world, an astonishing variety that many of us may take for granted because the sight has become so familiar. If we were to stop for a moment to consider where all of these foods have come from and how they have arrived on the shelves in conveniently packaged forms, then the connection between the food we eat and the way we live our lives would become apparent. Delve a little deeper still and what begins to emerge is the history of the interaction between people and their food, which shows how close these connections have always been and gives us an indication of the influence food has had on the nature of society. The Stuff of Life Food plays a central role in our lives: it is a necessity for all of us, a pleasure for many and an obsession for a few. It can bring us together and on occasion drive us apart, but there can be no getting away from the simple fact that we have to eat to live. The way in which people have provided for themselves through time and across cultures may be very different, but nevertheless the essential nature of sustenance remains much the same. From our hunting and gathering ancestors to the industrial agriculture and food manufacturing processes of today, food has been a common factor throughout our existence and wherever we live in the world. To begin at the beginning, this survey of the role of food in history starts with the foods of early hunters and gatherers before moving on to look at the adoption of agriculture and those foodstuffs eaten by the first farmers. From there we move on to the rise of cities and civilizations, while also taking in food cultures from around the world, and then carry on into the medieval period. Food provided the impetus for the Age of Exploration, when the Portuguese and Spanish began to open up trade routes around the world and were then joined by the Dutch and British. It would lead to the development of commercial networks and global financial systems as well as establishing the European empires which would come to dominate world history. European colonization of the New World would have a devastating impact on the indigenous cultures of the region and the foods they relied on, while, in the twentieth century, it would be behind the rise of America to global pre-eminence. In this way, we arrive at the industrial and postindustrial world of today, with its convenience foods and the brand names we find on those supermarket shelves. The Course of History Some foods have had an enormous impact on history, such as bread or the potato, while the influence of others has been rather more subtle. Anzac biscuits, for instance, continue to connect the people of Australia and New Zealand with the experiences of their soldiers in the First World War and, in South Korea, kimchi bridges the gap between the traditional and modern in a rapidly changing society. A few drinks have also been included which, strictly speaking, might be stretching the definition of food a little, but, at the same time, the histories of some foods and drinks are so intertwined that it can become difficult to discuss one without the other. To give just one example, the connections between the trade networks supplying tea and sugar to Europe which developed during the eighteenth century mean that it would be difficult to grasp one without understanding the other. It is also true to say that the enormous impact tea has had on history, however it is classified, makes it impossible to ignore in a book such as this one. The book is arranged by date to bring a little order to what might otherwise tend toward chaos, but this is only a rough guide and, as some of the discussions span thousands of years, it is probably best to take the chronology with a pinch of salt. But what we can say with confidence is that food has not only sustained us throughout our history, it has also played a crucial role in the way we live our lives, as it will no doubt continue to do in the future. If it is true to say that we are what we eat, then the examples described here show us that it is equally the case that what we eat makes us who we are. Excerpted from Fifty Foods That Changed the Course of History by Bill Price All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.