The Food History Reader - by Ken Albala (Paperback)

About the Book

With the proliferation of food history courses and avid interest amongst scholars and the public, the need for a comprehensive collection of primary texts is urgent. This is the definitive reader, spanning the globe from classical antiquity to the present.

Book Synopsis

With the proliferation of food history courses and avid interest among scholars and the general public, the need for a solid comprehensive collection of key primary texts about food of the past is urgent.

This collection spans the globe from classical antiquity to the present, offering substantive selections from cookbooks, fiction, gastronomic and dietary treatises and a wide range of food writing. Offering a solid introduction to each period with extensive commentary and suggestions for interpretive strategies, this reader provides extracts undigested, for the student who needs immediate and direct contact with the ideas of the past.

Readings illustrate the various ways religion, politics, social structure, health and agricultural policy shaped what people ate in the past and offer instructive ways to think about our own food systems and how they have been shaped by historical forces.

Review Quotes

"A wonderfully rich celebration of our love of food through the ages." --PD Smith, The Guardian

"The real strength of this book is the richness and variety of the sources presented, for which Albala must be highly commended. [...] The Food History Reader is a very welcome addition to the field of food history and will serve as a most valuable text to students and researchers alike . . . It will be essential reading for any university course on the subject and will also appeal to a wider audience interested in how what we eat today has been shaped by food practices of the past." --Josie Freear, University of Leeds, UK, LSE Review of Books

"An indispensable collection of historical documents, with rich treasures and surprises on every page!" --Warren Belasco, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA

"A very useful compendium for anyone interested in food history. There a lots of general histories out there, but nothing to compare with this book for its depth and inclusiveness. Rather than concentrating on the usual well-known European and American musings about food, the present volume has an extraordinary range of cultures and time periods. The writings deal with health, pleasure, fasting, danger and equilibrium. Few of them are widely known, anthologized or even translated. Ken Albala has done a heroic job of putting together a fascinating handbook of food through the ages." --Paul Freedman, Yale University, USA

"A unique and valuable resource for all who are interested in the history of food." --Jeffrey M. Pilcher, University of Minnesota, USA

"Ken Albala takes the reader on a turbulent, delightful journey into the history of food by selecting ninety-four texts, ranging from enigmatic marvels as 'Papyri on Food in Daily Life' to Atwater's classic 'Food as Building Material and Fuel'. This book cuts to the core of human life: amazing and essential reading!" --Peter Scholliers, Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

"What a great resource for food studies! This will be an instant classic in our canon of food studies materials for the classroom and research. Thank you!" --Marcie Cohen Ferris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA

About the Author

Ken Albala is Professor of History at the University of the Pacific, USA. He is the author or editor of 17 books including Eating Right in the Renaissance, The Banquet and Beans: A History. He has also coauthored two cookbooks, The Lost Art of Real Cooking and The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home.