The Cambridge World History of Food 2 Part Boxed Hardback Set

An undertaking without parallel or precedent, this monumental two-volume work encapsulates much of what is known of the history of food and nutrition throughout the span of human life on earth. It constitutes a vast and essential chapter in the history of human health and culture. Ranging from the eating habits of our prehistoric ancestors to food-related policy issues we face today, this work covers the full spectrum of foods that have been hunted, gathered, cultivated, and domesticated; their nutritional makeup and uses; and their impact on cultures and demography. It offers a geographical perspective on the history and culture of food and drink and takes up subjects from food fads, prejudices, and taboos to questions of food toxins, additives, labeling, and entitlements. It culminates in a dictionary that identifies and sketches out brief histories of plant foods mentioned in the text—over 1,000 in all—and additionally supplies thousands of common names and synonyms for those foods. The essays in this volume are the work of 220 experts in fifteen countries, in fields from agronomy to zoology. Every chapter is accompanied by bibliographical references. The volumes are organized in the following sections: 1. A determination of what our Paleolithic ancestors ate during their stay on the planet (over 99 percent of the time humankind has lived on earth). 6 chapters 2. An extensive treatment of the domestication and development of each of humankind's staple foods. 60 chapters 3. The history of our dietary liquids from beer through soft drinks to water. 13 chapters 4. Studies on the discovery of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and the essential fatty acids along with a look at what they do for us. 37 chapters 5. A history of food and drink for all of the countries in the world. In addition there is a chapter on culinary history. 23 chapters 6. Historical issues involving human health, such as nutrition and mortality decline, height and nutrition, infection and nutrition. 18 chapters 7. Contemporary food-related policy issues are treated in this penultimate section of the work. Examples include chapters on food labeling, food biotechnology and the RDAs. 13 chapters 8. The last section of the work is a food-plant dictionary with over 1,000 entries that emphasize history and usage. The dictionary also includes over 4,000 synonyms for the names of plant food. Here readers well-informed about potatoes or asparagus can learn about lesser-known or strictly regional foods such as ackee or zamia and—among the thousands of synonyms provided—can discover that an aubergine is an eggplant, that "swedes" are rutabagas, and that "bulgar" comes from bulghur, which means "bruised grain."

Short-listed for James Beard Foundation Book Awards (Writing and Reference) 2001

“'Unparalleled in its knowledge and content.' BBC Good Food Magazine 'Anyone looking for something in the 'oh, you shouldn't have!' category could do worse than give The Cambridge World History of Food'. The Sunday Telegraph”

'Top of the league ... there is enough in the two volumes to keep the curious happy for Christmases to come.' Matthew Fort, The Guardian 'It is a fantastic labour of love and such a pleasure to read.' Rick Stein (in a letter, January 2001) 'Monumentally big and impressively erudite. The scope of the work is immense, as is its undeniable value to writers, students and researchers of food.' Food and Travel 'Unparalleled in its knowledge and content.' BBC Good Food Magazine 'Anyone looking for something in the 'oh, you shouldn't have!' category could do worse than give The Cambridge World History of Food'. The Sunday Telegraph 'If you have a very special gourmet in your life, this is the Christmas present for them. ... This book is so fascinating that you could spend a whole year dipping in to it.' Healthy Eating 'The inquisitive food lover will find much to sift through, from the beginning chapter on what ancient people ate, to one on contemporary food-policy issues.' New York Times 'A weighty tome packed with culinary wisdom, which is ideal for lazy browsing.' Waitrose Food Illustrated 'A massive two-volume work ... The scholarship is fascinating. ... The entry on the British Isles is excellent [and] the history of contemporary preoccupations such as slimming and vegetarianism are compelling.' Country Life 'Factual Feast' Conde Nast Traveller A Cambridge vs. Oxford comparison. 'Cambridge is more extensive and appears to be more up to date on several important subjects.' Wall Street Journal (Europe) 'This treasure trove of knowledge about food is so interesting and useful that I have only one regret. I wish that it had been available earlier, to spare me (and you) the effort of tracking down hundreds of different sources now summarized here. Whether you are a cook, gourmet, or glutton, an archaeologist, physiologist, or historian, you will be browsing these two volumes for years to come.' Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel 'In a word: Wow ... The World History of Food is part fascinating reading, part essential reference tool. What's not in here doesn't exist.' USA Today 'An essential addition to the library of any serious chef, culinary educator, or devotee of fine cuisine.' Cuizine 'A place to start understanding the questions being asked by serious students of nearly any food-related discipline.' Gourmet ' ... an excellent book both for reference and for general interest. It is well written, readable [and] it will make a perfect Christmas present for anyone interested in food - and will be guaranteed to keep them occupied for many days, if not weeks.' Nature 'A magisterial achievement. Food has long been central to humankind's relationship to the earth, and anyone interested in that relationship will find here an endless source of knowledge and insight. The book's perspective is sweeping, its ecological and cultural significance is profound.' Donald Worster, University of Kansas '[A] formidably wide-ranging work.' Economist 'It's hard not to feel a giggly kind of pleasure at the full extent of knowledge on display in the Cambridge World History of Food.' The New Yorker '[A] tour de force. ... With information that is up-to-date, a format that is easy to use and a fresh, engaging approach to their subject, Kiple and Ornelas have prepared a magnificent resource.' Publishers Weekly '... for students, chefs, researchers and food fanatics with an academic bent, The Cambridge World History of Food will be indispensable.' Enterprise 'An outstanding new reference source ... The Cambridge World History of Food is a remarkable work of scholarship and is highly recommended.' Library Journal (starred) 'The Cambridge World History of Food is a thorough study of a topic that is eternally popular. It should become a standard source in reference collections of academic and large public libraries.' Booklist (starred) 'The Cambridge World History of Food justifies itself as the food book of the millennium. ... Like the pie of nursery rhyme, wherever I stuck my thumb in these two volumes, I pulled out a plum.' Science 'I'll wager that [specialists] and everyone else, from epicure to hunger activist, will soon be consulting these volumes as a quick route to erudition. In other words, this book is an ungainly but unique beast, and everyone will want to ride it.' Natural History

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