Eating In America: A History

The story of American eating begins and ends with the fact that American food, by most of the world’s standards, is not very good. This is a rather sad note considering the “land of plenty” the first American settlers found, and even sadder considering that with the vast knowledge of food we possess, we have still managed to create things such as the TV dinner and “Finger Lickin’ Good” chicken. Nevertheless, America’s eating habits, the philosophy behind these habits, and much of the food itself are deliciously fascinating. Waverly Root and Richard de Rochemont, in a style that is rich, tasty, and ironic, chronicle the history of American food and eating customs from the time of the earliest explorers to the present. In writing this chronicle on American food, Root and de Rochemont have in fact created a fresh and commanding history of the United States itself. Eating in America is an erudite, sumptuous, witty, marvelously readable study; truly a book to feast on time and again.