Book Reviews on
Food Health, Food Politics and Commentary
Updated May, 2009 - Joanne White
Real Food
What to Eat and Why
By Nina Planck
We all hope to raise our children, the way Nina was raised, on organic food and breast milk, in a lifestyle that connects with the land. Real Food offers some personal anecdotes, but mainly addresses food issues and how to make better choices for yourself and your children. Real Food is intelligent and well researched and offers answers to nagging questions, such as why you should drink whole milk, why is grassfed beef better, why buy organic, and what other types of food we should all be eating more of (e.g., fish, and fermented foods). The tone of Planck’s writing is wonderful and makes Real Food easy to read cover-to-cover.
The Year of the Goat: 40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheeseby Margaret Hathaway
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, as many memoirs are dry reading. The Year of the Goat immediately engaged me. Hathaway’s writing style is easy going and light, which makes it delightful to read. Her writing style reminds me of Ruth Reichl in its grace and accessibility.
She has a story to tell, too: A New York City couple leaving behind their old life to embark on a venture that is completely new and exciting. Their pursuit of the goat is worthwhile and enjoyable reading. There is a lot to learn about goats, goat cheese, and the pursuit of farming. Margaret Hathaway and her fiancé cross America looking for answers. They don’t actually get to make their own cheese in The Year of the Goat, but we can hope for a sequel.
The Devil’s Picnic: Travels Through the Underworld of Food and Drink by Taras Grescoe
To be frank, I was expecting another book entirely. The introduction teases the reader that the author’s travels in search of the rare and bizarre and downright dangerous items are the subject of the book, (as the title also infers), and such is not the case.
The subject of the book is more of a social history of the attracting item, like bull’s bulls or Swedish Moonshine. The author paints a detailed portrait of the society in which he is thrust into in search of the devilish ingredient, and while he is an articulate writer, he does not have the off-the-cuff bravado of Anthony Bourdain, for example, to make that sociology/anthropology lesson fun.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s interesting to learn about the circles which revolve around cocoa leaves and strict Malaysian laws but it was not quite a Devil’s Picnic, but more like a freelance writer’s quest for edginess.
The Artful Eaterby Edward Behr
The Artful Eater is a collection of articles from earlier issues of his The Art of Eating journal. This revised, second edition, will kick up your food knowledge a couple of levels. Highly recommended.
Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connectionby Jessica Prentice
Ms. Prentice accomplishes something rare – she’s made me think again about what I’m choosing to eat. Few food books are this inspiring.
I found the title almost misleading; it represented to me something mystical and intangible. Instead the book and it's messages are very down to earth. From Sugar to Eggs to Root Vegetables, the full moons represent 13 “months” of food/growing food/eating in the lunar calendar. From the Hunger moon of root vegetables (winter crops and over-wintered foods) to the Moon of making fat to the Blood moon (also known as the Hunter’s Moon). Each chapter is focused on the “Moon” month and what it means to us in 2006.
The Sap Moon deals with sugar and among other things offers a list of natural sugar alternatives like jaggery, palm sugar and birch syrup – all of which I had known about, but after reading the chapter I came away with a better understanding of them. As a result I changed the type of sugar we use in our house. Now if an author can manage to make me focus on something I’ve been taking for granted and call me to action, I think that’s a major accomplishment.
Highly Recommended Reading.
Comfort Me with Apples:
More Adventures at the Table
by Ruth Reichl
This is the second of (now) three autobiographies by Ruth Reichl. This is our favorite. Her writing style is easy-going and fun-to-read. Most of both of these books we read aloud to each other. Parts were hysterically funny. I’ve never tried any of the recipes that are tucked inside, and wasn’t really inspired to at the time, but I loved her stories!
Highly recommended for reading entertainment. We read Comfort Me With Apples first then sought out the Tender At the Bone. I’d be surprised, if anyone into food doesn’t at least crack a smile. (Book 3, Garlics & Sapphires, has not won Jack over - My review is forthcoming.)
Eating My Words: An Appetite For Life
by Mimi Sheraton
A light-style foodie book, that is more narration than storytelling. While Mimi Sheraton’s writing is easy to read and pleasant, the content of the book is rather thin. The book chronicles her experiences pre and post New York Times restaurant reviewer, and although there are tidbits of delectable interesting food stuff scattered here and there the book is more about her and less about food and food writing – so it wasn’t what I expected. Compared to Ruth Reichl’s first 2 books which also chronicle her life – this one is far less passionate – and less satisfying.
(Well, I did enjoy this book. - Jack)
Cooking for Mr. Latte: A Food Lover's Courtship, with Recipes
by Amanda Hesser, Izak (Illustrator)
My expectations were low for this book as I had read most of the cooking and courting saga in the New York Times Sunday Magazine section. I was pleasantly surprised to find extra recipes and longer stories for some of the installments, and at the end I had a compendium of many of the recipe pages which I had torn out of the Magazine section.
Based upon the number of recipes I would consider attempting from the book, it was worth the purchase and if by chance you didn't get to read Hesser's courtship of Mr. Latte, you might find this alone worth the price of admission.
