Food-Related Non-Fiction (377 books)

Food-Related Non-Fiction

Non-cookbook non-fiction books you've read about food, cooking, and eating.

1	The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan 4.19 avg rating — 50,547 ratings score: 18,030, and 182 people voted	My rating:
2	Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain 3.93 avg rating — 35,974 ratings score: 15,547, and 157 people voted	My rating:
3	Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser 3.65 avg rating — 116,344 ratings score: 13,446, and 137 people voted	My rating:
4	Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver 4.04 avg rating — 36,194 ratings score: 11,818, and 120 people voted	My rating:
5	In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan 4.01 avg rating — 27,805 ratings score: 10,413, and 107 people voted	My rating:
6	My Life in France by Julia Child 4.10 avg rating — 20,257 ratings score: 7,406, and 76 people voted	My rating:
7	Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl 4.00 avg rating — 9,656 ratings score: 6,552, and 67 people voted	My rating:
8	Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl 3.85 avg rating — 10,868 ratings score: 6,472, and 66 people voted	My rating:
9	Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford 3.79 avg rating — 7,818 ratings score: 5,459, and 56 people voted	My rating:
10	Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell 3.35 avg rating — 31,901 ratings score: 4,825, and 50 people voted	My rating:
11	Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky 3.63 avg rating — 7,659 ratings score: 4,546, and 48 people voted	My rating:
12	The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan 4.02 avg rating — 13,019 ratings score: 4,154, and 44 people voted	My rating:
13	Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer 4.14 avg rating — 11,361 ratings score: 3,857, and 39 people voted	My rating:
14	A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle 3.85 avg rating — 12,092 ratings score: 3,188, and 33 people voted	My rating:
15	A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain 3.90 avg rating — 5,821 ratings score: 3,069, and 32 people voted	My rating:
16	On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee 4.53 avg rating — 2,154 ratings score: 2,891, and 30 people voted	My rating:
17	Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes 3.50 avg rating — 129,320 ratings score: 2,814, and 29 people voted	My rating:
18	Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl 3.89 avg rating — 5,620 ratings score: 2,686, and 28 people voted	My rating:
19	The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher 4.37 avg rating — 1,317 ratings score: 2,478, and 26 people voted	My rating:
20	The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute by Michael Ruhlman 4.01 avg rating — 1,581 ratings score: 2,313, and 24 people voted	My rating:
21	The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten 3.89 avg rating — 2,609 ratings score: 2,308, and 24 people voted	My rating:
22	The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection by Michael Ruhlman 3.96 avg rating — 1,469 ratings score: 2,211, and 23 people voted	My rating:
23	Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky 3.84 avg rating — 3,425 ratings score: 1,983, and 21 people voted	My rating:
24	Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond 3.76 avg rating — 2,426 ratings score: 1,744, and 18 people voted	My rating:
25	The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn (Goodreads Author) 3.51 avg rating — 3,092 ratings score: 1,641, and 17 people voted	My rating:
26	Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin 4.22 avg rating — 1,011 ratings score: 1,632, and 17 people voted	My rating:
27	The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation by David Kamp 3.59 avg rating — 1,599 ratings score: 1,624, and 17 people voted	My rating:
28	A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage 3.67 avg rating — 2,281 ratings score: 1,540, and 16 people voted	My rating:
29	Skinny Bitch: A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous! by Rory Freedman 3.26 avg rating — 12,604 ratings score: 1,476, and 15 people voted	My rating:
30	A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg 3.94 avg rating — 4,215 ratings score: 1,374, and 14 people voted	My rating:
31	The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher 4.24 avg rating — 757 ratings score: 1,366, and 15 people voted	My rating:
32	The Language of Baklava: A Memoir by Diana Abu-Jaber 3.95 avg rating — 596 ratings score: 1,325, and 14 people voted	My rating:
33	Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain 3.61 avg rating — 6,151 ratings score: 1,301, and 14 people voted	My rating:
34	French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano 3.37 avg rating — 4,924 ratings score: 1,255, and 13 people voted	My rating:
35	Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smith 3.70 avg rating — 1,764 ratings score: 1,254, and 13 people voted	My rating:
36	The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee (Goodreads Author) 3.54 avg rating — 1,879 ratings score: 1,159, and 12 people voted	My rating:
37	Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats by Steve Ettlinger 3.15 avg rating — 816 ratings score: 1,157, and 12 people voted	My rating:
38	Consider the Oyster by M.F.K. Fisher 4.18 avg rating — 325 ratings score: 1,126, and 12 people voted	My rating:
39	Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink 3.85 avg rating — 2,043 ratings score: 1,071, and 11 people voted	My rating:
40	The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin 4.09 avg rating — 1,157 ratings score: 1,067, and 11 people voted	My rating:
41	Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle 3.83 avg rating — 860 ratings score: 1,059, and 11 people voted	My rating:
42	Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America by Morgan Spurlock 3.68 avg rating — 847 ratings score: 1,040, and 11 people voted	My rating:
43	Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch 3.29 avg rating — 1,402 ratings score: 955, and 10 people voted	My rating:
44	The Food of a Younger Land: The WPA's Portrait of Food in Pre-World War II America by Mark Kurlansky 3.25 avg rating — 664 ratings score: 939, and 10 people voted	My rating:
45	An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage 3.40 avg rating — 369 ratings score: 938, and 10 people voted	My rating:
46	It Must've Been Something I Ate by Jeffrey Steingarten 4.05 avg rating — 1,038 ratings score: 922, and 10 people voted	My rating:
47	Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 3.38 avg rating — 354,431 ratings score: 882, and 9 people voted	My rating:
48	Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World by Dan Koeppel 3.62 avg rating — 700 ratings score: 872, and 9 people voted	My rating:
49	The Tummy Trilogy by Calvin Trillin 4.06 avg rating — 360 ratings score: 803, and 9 people voted	My rating:
50	SEAsoned - A Chef's Journey with Her Captain by Victoria Allman (Goodreads Author) 4.35 avg rating — 23 ratings score: 800, and 8 people voted	My rating:
51	Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front by Joel Salatin 4.09 avg rating — 339 ratings score: 785, and 8 people voted	My rating:
52	The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer 4.07 avg rating — 1,083 ratings score: 765, and 8 people voted	My rating:
53	Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé 3.90 avg rating — 840 ratings score: 761, and 8 people voted	My rating:
54	Alice, Let's Eat: Further Adventures of a Happy Eater by Calvin Trillin 4.01 avg rating — 386 ratings score: 721, and 8 people voted	My rating:
54	The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Useable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain 3.67 avg rating — 4,180 ratings score: 721, and 8 people voted	My rating:
56	The Sweet Life in Paris: A Recipe for Living in the World's Most Delicious City by David Lebovitz 3.80 avg rating — 1,938 ratings score: 678, and 7 people voted	My rating:
57	Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes 4.22 avg rating — 1,026 ratings score: 671, and 7 people voted	My rating:
58	American Pie: Slices of Life (and Pie) from America's Back Roads by Pascale Le Draoulec 3.81 avg rating — 202 ratings score: 670, and 7 people voted	My rating:
58	The True History of Chocolate by Sophie D. Coe 3.66 avg rating — 191 ratings score: 670, and 7 people voted	My rating:
60	Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist In Andalucڳia by Chris Stewart 3.61 avg rating — 1,437 ratings score: 651, and 7 people voted	My rating:
61	Toast by Nigel Slater 3.58 avg rating — 1,419 ratings score: 649, and 7 people voted	My rating:
62	Spice: The History Of A Temptation by Jack Turner 3.37 avg rating — 408 ratings score: 637, and 7 people voted	My rating:
63	Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton 3.63 avg rating — 5,455 ratings score: 579, and 6 people voted	My rating:
64	The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health by T. Colin Campbell 4.20 avg rating — 3,500 ratings score: 578, and 6 people voted	My rating:
65	Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at the Table by Nigel Slater 3.60 avg rating — 178 ratings score: 575, and 6 people voted	My rating:
66	Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton 3.80 avg rating — 648 ratings score: 556, and 6 people voted	My rating:
67	Uncommon Grounds: The History Of Coffee And How It Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast (Goodreads Author) 3.57 avg rating — 256 ratings score: 539, and 6 people voted	My rating:
68	The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars by Joël Glenn Brenner 3.90 avg rating — 490 ratings score: 538, and 7 people voted	My rating:
69	Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating by Jane Goodall 3.97 avg rating — 714 ratings score: 491, and 5 people voted	My rating:
70	From Here, You Can't See Paris: Seasons of a French Village and Its Restaurant by Michael S. Sanders 3.66 avg rating — 143 ratings score: 489, and 5 people voted	My rating:
71	What to Eat by Marion Nestle 4.03 avg rating — 1,583 ratings score: 485, and 5 people voted	My rating:
72	Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen 3.37 avg rating — 1,323 ratings score: 481, and 5 people voted	My rating:
73	Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen 3.95 avg rating — 251 ratings score: 480, and 5 people voted	My rating:
74	Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater by Frank Bruni 3.57 avg rating — 1,988 ratings score: 476, and 5 people voted	My rating:
75	An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David 3.99 avg rating — 184 ratings score: 474, and 5 people voted	My rating:
76	Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado 3.68 avg rating — 810 ratings score: 464, and 5 people voted	My rating:
77	Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating: How to Choose the Best Bread, Cheeses, Olive Oil, Pasta, Chocolate, and Much More by Ari Weinzweig 4.05 avg rating — 130 ratings score: 446, and 5 people voted	My rating:
78	The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky 3.78 avg rating — 885 ratings score: 443, and 5 people voted	My rating:
79	American Fried: Adventures Of A Happy Eater by Calvin Trillin 4.00 avg rating — 89 ratings score: 442, and 5 people voted	My rating:
80	Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter 4.01 avg rating — 2,620 ratings score: 393, and 4 people voted	My rating:
81	Food And Drink In Britain: FROM THE STONE AGE TO THE 19TH CENTURY by C. Anne Wilson 3.80 avg rating — 10 ratings score: 391, and 4 people voted	My rating:
81	Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century (California Studies in Food and Culture, 24) by Laura Shapiro 3.57 avg rating — 122 ratings score: 391, and 5 people voted	My rating:
83	Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America by Amy Sutherland 3.76 avg rating — 112 ratings score: 389, and 4 people voted	My rating:
84	The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart 4.33 avg rating — 990 ratings score: 384, and 4 people voted	My rating:
85	Nathaniel's Nutmeg, Or, The True And Incredible Adventures Of The Spice Trader Who Changed The Course Of History by Giles Milton 3.55 avg rating — 524 ratings score: 382, and 4 people voted	My rating:
86	A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers 3.59 avg rating — 70,825 ratings score: 379, and 4 people voted	My rating:
87	In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food by Stewart Lee Allen 3.63 avg rating — 229 ratings score: 375, and 4 people voted	My rating:
88	Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America, Revised Edition (California Studies in Food and Culture, 8) by Harvey Levenstein 3.67 avg rating — 46 ratings score: 369, and 5 people voted	My rating:
89	Eating My Words: An Appetite for Life by Mimi Sheraton 3.23 avg rating — 118 ratings score: 356, and 4 people voted	My rating:
89	Just Food: How Locavores Are Endangering the Future of Food and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly by James E. McWilliams 3.48 avg rating — 114 ratings score: 356, and 4 people voted	My rating:
91	Are You Really Going to Eat That?: Reflections of a Culinary Thrill Seeker by Robb Walsh 3.30 avg rating — 104 ratings score: 342, and 4 people voted	My rating:
92	An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude by Ann Vanderhoof 3.92 avg rating — 740 ratings score: 331, and 4 people voted	My rating:
93	The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World by Larry Zuckerman 3.58 avg rating — 64 ratings score: 320, and 4 people voted	My rating:
94	Life, on the Line: A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat by Grant Achatz 4.02 avg rating — 786 ratings score: 300, and 3 people voted	My rating:
95	The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson 4.62 avg rating — 71 ratings score: 299, and 3 people voted	My rating:
95	The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Ga by William Alexander 3.67 avg rating — 1,312 ratings score: 299, and 3 people voted	My rating:
97	Devil's Picnic by Taras Grescoe 3.78 avg rating — 255 ratings score: 294, and 3 people voted	My rating:
98	The Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them by Susan Allport 4.22 avg rating — 74 ratings score: 291, and 3 people voted	My rating:
99	A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena De Blasi 3.41 avg rating — 1,387 ratings score: 290, and 3 people voted	My rating:
100	Never Satisfied : A Cultural History of Diets, Fantasies & Fat by Hillel Schwartz 3.47 avg rating — 15 ratings score: 287, and 3 people voted	My rating: