A Rich and Fertile Land

‘A readable, succinct, and deeply knowledgeable introduction to the history of American food.’ - Rachel Laudan, author of Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History; ‘A delightfully informative and readable history of American food from prehistoric times to the present. Fluid and engaging, it is an ambitious work written with an historian’s skill and a food-lover’s heart.’ - Andrew F. Smith, editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America; ‘The land is the protagonist in this fascinating account of America’s food habits and production. The use, misuse and transformation of the landscape are creatively and compellingly related to the everyday business of eating.’ - Paul Freedman, Chester D. Tripp Professor of History, Yale University

Bruce Kraig is Professor Emeritus in History and Humanities at Roosevelt University, Chicago, and the founding President of the Culinary Historians of Chicago. An inter­nationally recognized food historian, he has been host and writer for a series of award-winning food documentaries for PBS, and has also appeared on ABC National News, Good Morning America and BBC News. He has written several cookery books and his articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune.. He is the author or editor of numerous books on food history, including Hot Dog: A Global History (Reaktion, 2009).