Reviews
"Nothing will satisfy the foodie more than the two volumes of The OxfordEncyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, which takes the reader from Anadamabread, which originated on Boston's North Shore, to an 1845 dinner at the WhiteHouse," --The Boston Globle, "Whether readers make a living studying culinary traditions or just enjoyeating, they'll find this book a marvel. A trove of in-depth information onevery aspect of American food and drink--such as holiday food traditions, theSlow Food movement and vegetarianism--the book strives to place its subject intohistorical and cultural context and succeeds brilliantly....Readers will behooked upon opening either volume (the entire work is split in two) and flippingto any page....For food lovers of all stripes, this work inspires, enlightensand entertains."--Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW, "It's never too early to make up a Christmas wish list, and if you mightyearn for what's about to be suggested, you may be behind already. The gift thatpromises to thrill anyone who loves (not likes) food and most everything aboutit is: 'The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.'"--The BirminghamNews, "Nothing will satisfy the foodie more than the two volumes of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, which takes the reader from Anadama bread, which originated on Boston's North Shore, to an 1845 dinner at the White House," --The Boston Globe"Fascinating, informative, these two volumes are a wealth of information on every aspect of American food and drink....Truly an invaluable resource."--Washington Post"Essential....Anyone who can put it down is unburdened by curiosity about anything." --The New Yorker"Whether readers make a living studying culinary traditions or just enjoy eating, they'll find this book a marvel. A trove of in-depth information on every aspect of American food and drink--such as holiday food traditions, the Slow Food movement and vegetarianism--the book strives to place its subject into historical and cultural context and succeeds brilliantly....Readers will be hooked upon opening either volume (the entire work is split in two) and flipping to any page....For food lovers of all stripes, this work inspires, enlightens and entertains."--Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW"An authoritative resource that brings together 'the best scholarship on the history of American food'.... With entries ranging from "Bialy" to "Borden" (complete with a sidebar on "Elsie the Cow"), and "Vegetarianism" to "Vienna Sausage," this is an encyclopedic smorgasbord where readers can either casually graze multiple offerings or choose a single topic and dig in." -- School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW"How did the mock apple pie originate? What's the difference between a frappe and a milkshake? Who introduced the first frozen TV dinner? Answers to queries such as these can be found in this highly entertaining set...Essential. Highly recommended for all libraries." -- Choice, "Named a 2004 oustanding reference source by RUSA, this two-volume set lives up to expectations....An excellent place to check when you need to know who Uncle Ben was or ho deep fried Twinkies came about."--College and Research Libraries News, "Yes, it's a reference book. But for foodies, The Oxford Encyclopedia ofFood and Drink in America is like going to a tapas bar: You can't stop nibbling.(Come to think of it, given the heft of this two-volume work, it could do doubleduty as a tapas bar.) Compiled by Andrew F. Smith and written by foodhistorians, writers and other experts (including Tribune food editor CarolMighton Haddix--see "Cookbooks After 1970," p. 304), the Oxford Encyclopediacontains more than 800 articles and 300 illustrations that chart an exhaustive,exhilarating journey through the nation's foodways. "--Chicago Tribune, "Following The Oxford Companion to Food (1999) and The Oxford Companion toWine (1999), here is another reference title to feed our fascination with thethings we eat and drink...highly recommended."--Booklist STARRED REVIEW, The two-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, publishedthis month by Oxford University Press, weighs in as an authoritative - andoffbeat - food reference. Entries cover expected topics (cookies, ice cream,pizza, wedding cakes), but also poetry about food, prison food (an entry MarthaStewart could have contributed but didn't) and fad diets.--Boston Herald, "Fascinating, informative, these two volumes are a wealth of informationon every aspect of American food and drink....Truly an invaluableresource."--Washington Post, "Home cooks and gourmets, chefs and restauranteurs, epicures , and simple food lovers of all stripes will delight in this smorgasbord of the history and culture of food and drink." --American Libraries, "The strength of the book, however, is as an omnium gatherum of knowledge about two big things: on the one hand, the American transformation of raw materials that graze, grow and ruminate on earth, fly up above, or swim limitless waters into products ranged tidily on shelves in delis andsupermarkets; and the mechanisms, ventures and personalities that have ensured their delivery to the mass consumers on the other.... To have it all between two covers is luck indeed. And the broad coverage of many kitchen gadgets and all forms of retail food activity from hot dog stands toluncheonettes puts these facts into social context."--The Guardian, "Nothing will satisfy the foodie more than the two volumes of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America , which takes the reader from Anadama bread, which originated on Boston's North Shore, to an 1845 dinner at the White House," -- The Boston Globe "Fascinating, informative, these two volumes are a wealth of information on every aspect of American food and drink....Truly an invaluable resource."-- Washington Post "Essential....Anyone who can put it down is unburdened by curiosity about anything." -- The New Yorker "Whether readers make a living studying culinary traditions or just enjoy eating, they'll find this book a marvel. A trove of in-depth information on every aspect of American food and drink--such as holiday food traditions, the Slow Food movement and vegetarianism--the book strives to place its subject into historical and cultural context and succeeds brilliantly....Readers will be hooked upon opening either volume (the entire work is split in two) and flipping to any page....For food lovers of all stripes, this work inspires, enlightens and entertains."-- Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW "An authoritative resource that brings together 'the best scholarship on the history of American food'.... With entries ranging from "Bialy" to "Borden" (complete with a sidebar on "Elsie the Cow"), and "Vegetarianism" to "Vienna Sausage," this is an encyclopedic smorgasbord where readers can either casually graze multiple offerings or choose a single topic and dig in." -- School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW "How did the mock apple pie originate? What's the difference between a frappe and a milkshake? Who introduced the first frozen TV dinner? Answers to queries such as these can be found in this highly entertaining set...Essential. Highly recommended for all libraries." -- Choice, "Nothing will satisfy the foodie more than the two volumes of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, which takes the reader from Anadama bread, which originated on Boston's North Shore, to an 1845 dinner at the White House," --The Boston Globle, "Part social history, part political history, the fascinating articles also offer information on events, inventions, ethnic food, and people."--School Library Journal Curriculum Connections, This year a behemoth has been lying unnoticed on bookshop shelves. Perhaps ignored because it is an American import, it comes it two volumes and costs little less than a transatlantic plane ticket, yet it deserves celebration. The books' great strength, however, is as an omnium-gatherum of knowledge about two big things: on the one hand, the American transformation of raw materials that graze, grow and ruminate on earth, fly up above, or swim in limitless waters into products rangedtidily on shelves in delis and supermarkets; and on the other, the mechanisms, ventures and personalities that have ensured their delivery to the mass of consumers., "Like The Oxford Companion to Food, this resource includes information on specific foods, history, traditions, and biographies of noted chefs and cooks. It has a more pop-culture slant to it, covering prominent manufacturers and their brands (two pages on Spam) and including offbeat entrieslike Food in Film....Most of the appendixes are excellent, including food and drink bibliographies, periodicals list, major library collections, food museums, related organizations, food festivals, and more....Recommended."--Library Journal, "Essential.... Anyone who can put it down is unburdened by curiosity about anything."--The New Yorker, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America ...comes in two heftyvolumes. Their 1,550 pages, with 800 articles by a distinguished team ofwriters, take readers alphabetically through past and present, history andculture.Either volume could give an answer to a specific food or drink question, orprovide an escape route to endless sessions of entertaining browsing -- tracingthe origins of french fries, for instance, or the evolution of tailgatepicnics."--Associated Press, "This will tell you that ketchup was actually soy-based. It will revealthe inventors of clam chowder, apple pie and chili con carne. Be prepared forsurprises."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "This two-volume encyclopedia presents a comprehensive and delightful voyage through historical and contemporary foodways.... Will provide fodder for countless explorations and discoveries such as these for food lovers, scholars, students, and writers. With its excellent organization, lucidwriting, and comprehensive coverage, it will be an invaluable resource for years to come."--Gastronomica, An excellent job. The list of slang expressions once common in diners and the inventory of mock foods are riveting., "Nothing will satisfy the foodie more than the two volumes of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, which takes the reader from Anadama bread, which originated on Boston's North Shore, to an 1845 dinner at the White House," --The Boston Globe "Fascinating, informative, these two volumes are a wealth of information on every aspect of American food and drink....Truly an invaluable resource."--Washington Post "Essential....Anyone who can put it down is unburdened by curiosity about anything." --The New Yorker "Whether readers make a living studying culinary traditions or just enjoy eating, they'll find this book a marvel. A trove of in-depth information on every aspect of American food and drink--such as holiday food traditions, the Slow Food movement and vegetarianism--the book strives to place its subject into historical and cultural context and succeeds brilliantly....Readers will be hooked upon opening either volume (the entire work is split in two) and flipping to any page....For food lovers of all stripes, this work inspires, enlightens and entertains."--Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW "An authoritative resource that brings together 'the best scholarship on the history of American food'.... With entries ranging from "Bialy" to "Borden" (complete with a sidebar on "Elsie the Cow"), and "Vegetarianism" to "Vienna Sausage," this is an encyclopedic smorgasbord where readers can either casually graze multiple offerings or choose a single topic and dig in." -- School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW "How did the mock apple pie originate? What's the difference between a frappe and a milkshake? Who introduced the first frozen TV dinner? Answers to queries such as these can be found in this highly entertaining set...Essential. Highly recommended for all libraries." -- Choice, "It's rare to find "encyclopedia" in a title without the book coming offas stodgy, but Smith has managed by including history some purists would thinktoo pop to be academic. So not only are there biographies of Milton SnavelyHershey (of chocolate fame) and Julia Child but also of Ernest and Julio Galloand Orville Redenbacher."--Portland Oregonian, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America ...comes in two hefty volumes. Their 1,550 pages, with 800 articles by a distinguished team of writers, take readers alphabetically through past and present, history and culture.Either volume could give an answer to a specific food or drink question, or provide an escape route to endless sessions of entertaining browsing -- tracing the origins of french fries, for instance, or the evolution of tailgate picnics."--Associated Press, "An authoritative resource that brings together "the best scholarship on the history of American food." Each entry includes a briefly annotated bibliography and cross references to related articles. Black-and-white illustrations add interest; most of them are historical reproductions withbrief identifying captions. The writing is clear, the coverage is thorough, and the index is comprehensive. With entries ranging from "Bialy" to "Borden" (complete with a sidebar on "Elsie the Cow"), and "Vegetarianism" to "Vienna Sausage," this is an encyclopedic smorgasbord where readers caneither casually graze multiple offerings or choose a single topic and dig in." -- School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW
