false 294166 0671797913 9780671797911 21 6 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173470458m/294166.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/294166.Why_We_Eat_What_We_Eat_How_Columbus_Changed_the_Way_the_World_Eats 169857 Raymond Sokolov 56 15 4 0 false Mon Oct 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 10:18:01 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 12:24:02 -0700 2009 Why We Eat What We Eat is a fascinating account of the modern American diet. I've never read a book quite like it, and what immediately comes to mind isn't more food writing but rather Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, a more general history of why certain cultures (rather than cuisines) came to be dominant. Sokolov's book is, likewise, concerned with domination, though here it's food rather than society that ultimately reigns supreme.

Unfortunately, Sokolov's thesis is a bit hazy, and the organization of the book haphazard. Later chapters, especially, feel a bit like asides and could have easily been combined to create more balance overall.

Nevertheless, Sokolov's prose and affection for the food in question, respectively, carry and unify this book. It's food porn to the nth degree, lovingly researched and written. It made me hungry for all sorts of things I've never eaten--persimmons and old varieties of apples and extinct key limes--and some things I have. Even with its imperfections, this is a really worthwhile read for both foodies and history buffs. Like an old-fashioned, mottled apple, Why We Eat What We Eat is tasty, despite its flaws.]]>