NEAR A THOUSAND TABLES: A History of Food
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, NEAR A THOUSAND TABLES: A History of FoodFor sheer volume of fascinating facts, this survey of gastronomic lore can't be beat. Fernández-Armesto (Millennium ), a Professional Fellow at the University of London and member of the modern history faculty at Oxford, debunks popular myths, such as the idea that spices were needed in medieval times to "disguise tainted meat and fish" (in fact, "fresh foods in the middle ages were fresher than today" and healthier as well). He shows why the cultivation of rye, barley and wheat is one of the "most spectacular achievements of humankind" and informs readers that the whole grain cracker invented by Sylvester Graham was intended to impede sexual desire and promote abstinence. But the book is more then a litany of quirky tidbits; Fernández-Armesto charts how the evolution of human culture is directly connected to the way food is obtained. The logistics of agriculture and hunting have shaped notions of gender and community; food is often integral to concepts of the sacred in a society; and the "loneliness of the fast food eater"—aided by such inventions as the microwave—has become emblematic of contemporary society's fragmentation. Fernández-Armesto writes lucidly and conveys his enormous enthusiasm for his subject. While he draws upon the work of many historians and theorists—including Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Claude Lévi-Strauss and Ferdinand Braudel—his erudite analysis always engaging and accessible. (June)
closeDetailsReviewed on: 05/20/2002
Genre: Nonfiction
Open Ebook - 272 pages - 978-0-7432-3415-3
Paperback - 272 pages - 978-0-7432-2740-7
For sheer volume of fascinating facts, this survey of gastronomic lore can't be beat. Fernández-Armesto (
Reviewed on: 05/20/2002
Genre: Nonfiction
Open Ebook - 272 pages - 978-0-7432-3415-3
Paperback - 272 pages - 978-0-7432-2740-7
