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Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West--One Meal at a Time (Paperback) - Common
518 pages, Paperback
2 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Fried
22 books87 followersStephen Fried is an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author who teaches at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.
His latest books are RUSH: Revolution, Madness and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (Crown) and Profiles in Mental Health Courage (Dutton) by Patrick Kennedy & Stephen Fried.
He has written six other acclaimed nonfiction books, including the biographies Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West—One Meal at a Time and Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia; and the mental health memoir A Common Struggle, co-authored with Congressman Patrick Kennedy. Fried also wrote the investigative books Bitter Pills: Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs and The New Rabbi, as well as a collection of essays on marriage, Husbandry.
A two-time winner of the National Magazine Award, he has written frequently for Vanity Fair, GQ, The Washington Post Magazine, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, Glamour, and Philadelphia Magazine.
Fried lectures widely on the subjects of his books and magazine articles, and does editorial consulting. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, author Diane Ayres.
FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/Stephen-Frie...
His latest books are RUSH: Revolution, Madness and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (Crown) and Profiles in Mental Health Courage (Dutton) by Patrick Kennedy & Stephen Fried.
He has written six other acclaimed nonfiction books, including the biographies Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West—One Meal at a Time and Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia; and the mental health memoir A Common Struggle, co-authored with Congressman Patrick Kennedy. Fried also wrote the investigative books Bitter Pills: Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs and The New Rabbi, as well as a collection of essays on marriage, Husbandry.
A two-time winner of the National Magazine Award, he has written frequently for Vanity Fair, GQ, The Washington Post Magazine, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, Glamour, and Philadelphia Magazine.
Fried lectures widely on the subjects of his books and magazine articles, and does editorial consulting. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, author Diane Ayres.
FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/Stephen-Frie...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 30, 2025
Ha! This book was written all the way back in 2010 and still only has 4 reviews on Goodreads? Well, that may say something right there.
I had never heard of author Stephen Fried before, but as nonfiction writers go, he was actually pretty good in this one. Fried talks a bit at the beginning of how he stumbled upon this subject, because as you might be able to tell from the title, this is a VERY SPECIFIC subject. All in all, Fried seemed to manage well, even though it was definitely TOO LONG and a bit rambling.
Potential readers for this? Fans of: American restaurant business, 1880's wealthy families, the American train enthusiasts, Southwest Indian culture, Grand Canyon lore, and biography of the Harvey family.
I'm glad I read it because I learned a lot. But reader beware - it didn't always feel cohesive and there were many, many, many side stories of various friends, family, and business associates who came in and out of the Harvey family's world. Again, this is where Fried's editor should have stepped in and said, nope, nope, you can't keep going off on these tangents. That's what dragged down the book and made it take longer than it should have to finish it.
Side note: make sure to go all the way to the back of the book. Fried included many of the original recipes of the most beloved items served by the "Fred Harvey Girls". Yum!
I had never heard of author Stephen Fried before, but as nonfiction writers go, he was actually pretty good in this one. Fried talks a bit at the beginning of how he stumbled upon this subject, because as you might be able to tell from the title, this is a VERY SPECIFIC subject. All in all, Fried seemed to manage well, even though it was definitely TOO LONG and a bit rambling.
Potential readers for this? Fans of: American restaurant business, 1880's wealthy families, the American train enthusiasts, Southwest Indian culture, Grand Canyon lore, and biography of the Harvey family.
I'm glad I read it because I learned a lot. But reader beware - it didn't always feel cohesive and there were many, many, many side stories of various friends, family, and business associates who came in and out of the Harvey family's world. Again, this is where Fried's editor should have stepped in and said, nope, nope, you can't keep going off on these tangents. That's what dragged down the book and made it take longer than it should have to finish it.
Side note: make sure to go all the way to the back of the book. Fried included many of the original recipes of the most beloved items served by the "Fred Harvey Girls". Yum!
Displaying 1 of 1 review