Richard Reynolds’ scattershot history of gardening without borders may lead readers elsewhere to find examples, but he’s also hoping we’ll take matters into our own hands. Via Gastronomica.
Longtime New York Times writer R.W. Apple’s grandiose dispatches cover the U.S.’s best soft-shell crabs, the most authentic kosher corned beef, and the finest cherry pie.
Farm City is sort of like the simple life in reverse. Rather than wealthy socialites mucking manure on a farm, the memoir depicts an educated country girl giddily exploring the heart of Oakland.
Mark Kurlansky has uncovered an archive about the Depression-era America Eats project, which put unemployed writers to work on a collection about food. (Listen to audio.)
Brad Kessler’s lengthy poetic entries about his small herd of goats hardly qualifies as a comprehensive manual. Still, the observant, unsanctimonious read is bound to inspire hobby farmers and consummate cheese lovers.
The redemptive aspect of Jonah Raskin’s intensely local memoir lies in its specificity to place, although the sprawling narrative imparts more of a gauzy poetic impression than any cohesive ideas about food or farming.
Like Leslie Miller’s frantic, inconsistent attempts at baking, her writing suffers from the “perils of impatience” and a lack of focus.
Veteran Chicago Tribune entertainment reporter Caro expands on his front-page story about a 2005 flap over foie gras with a wide-ranging investigation into the ethical debate of fattened duck liver.
In his meandering memoir, New York restaurateur Pino Luongo traces his “American success story” from a hasty, draft-dodging flight from Italy to his current position as a chef at the Upper East Side’s Centolire.
While Amanda Hesser’s collection of essays adds to the rapidly expanding genre of literature using food and recipes as essential ingredients, this compelling selection of memoirs is a welcome addition.
Betty Fussell critiques the polemical meat writing of Michael Pollan and the mythology of a rare, bloodied “he-man food” by giving an evenhanded look at the many sides of beef.
Author Pat Willard does not dwell on the historical circumstances of this Depression-era project. Instead she looks for the modern equivalents and her travels are the thrust of America Eats!
This banjo-strumming Woody Woodpecker’s campfire is a constant blaze of dreamy, peculiar Americana. A review of four tracks for The Boston Phoenix.
In short: Norman Mailer’s 1966 poem “The shortest novel of them all” clocks in at 80 words. In other words, way too long for this collection of ultrashort literature.
Gut-centricity: Frederick Kaufman probes the obsession with eating. On his irreverent trip back in time, he wonders about all those diet gurus who promote the live-forever life and die young. (Listen.)
Outsider: 15-year old Billy Price, from Lisbon Falls, Me., is different than most. So is the documentary film about him. Maybe it’s a good thing not everything fits in.
Richard Reynolds’ scattershot history of gardening without borders may lead readers elsewhere to find examples, but he’s also hoping we’ll take matters into our own hands. Via Gastronomica
Mark Kurlansky has uncovered an archive about the Depression-era America Eats project, which put unemployed writers to work on a collection about food
Outsider: 15-year old Billy Price, from Lisbon Falls, Me., is different than most. So is the documentary film about him. Maybe it’s a good thing not everything fits in