Review
"...'America's Kitchens' makes use of case histories and interviews to animate its text. Equally compelling are the numerous old photos, posters and advertising art that bolster the narrative...A rare hybrid...is equal parts scholarly research and coffee table book - in short, serious fun." --Maine Sunday Telegram, December 14, 2008
"BUY THIS BOOK. On a 1 to 10 scale, this book is an 11. Of the hundreds of books I have listed and reviewed here on FoodReference.com since I began in 1999, this is among the BEST. Suffice it to say that on the day I received a copy, I could not help but to stop working and spend several hours reading and enjoying the incredibly rich visual content and text of America's Kitchens. America's Kitchens is interesting, informative, and entertaining. Lavishly illustrated with drawings, paintings, period posters, newspaper and magazine advertisements, color and black & white photos of people, kitchens, and equipment. America's Kitchens is a treasure trove of cultural information that tells the story of this room that is central to our lives in so many ways. If you enjoy FoodReference.com, you will love this fascinating book. The photos and illustrations alone make this a must have book for anyone interested in culinary history. Kudos to the authors, the book designers and Historic New England for producing a truly wonderful book." --FoodReference.com, December 2008
"......Innovatively designed and lavishly illustrated with historic drawings, photographs and a fascinating array of ephemera from Historic New England's diverse collections, America's Kitchens describes what it was like to live with and work in kitchens that had none of the conveniences we take for granted. At the same time, the book analyzes the profound place of the kitchen in our own lives today." --Kennebec Journal, January 11,2009
"...Innovatively designed and lavishly illustrated with historic drawings, photographs, and a fascinating array of ephemera from Historic New England's diverse collections, "America's Kitchens' describes what it was like to live with and work in kitchens that had none of the conveniences we take for granted. At the same time, the book analyzes the profound place of the kitchen in our own lives today..." --Antiques Journal, March 2009
"...a compelling homage to the beloved room within the home that is central to our lives in so many respects...richly embellished with paintings, photographs and historic drawings..." --
Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin, March 23,2009
"...It's the kitchen that's the most evocative room in the American household. The authors of
America's Kitchens reaffirm that fact of national life in this fascinating compilation of words and images that trace the room's evolution from the "hearth way of life" in the colonies all the way to the granite-topped, open-plan kitchen extravaganzas of today...." --
The Culinary Times, Spring 2009
"...a thoroughly and thoughtful look at the evolution of the kitchen (or what has served that purpose) across the country from America's earliest inhabitants to the present day....scholarly enough for research-but lively and appealing to the casual reader. Or one can simply browse through the photographs, engravings, advertisements and sketches...to enjoy a pictorial evolutionary history of the kitchen. It is indeed an evolution, in social and technological terms..." --
Women's Quarterly/Kennebec Journal, July 22, 2009
Review
...The variety of illustrations in
Kitchens produces an engaging panorama ranging from period photography, written documents, drawings, and advertisements to genre paintings. The span of illustrative material runs parallel to and complements the book's highly satisfactory essays on kitchens, and cooking traditions, making it an outstanding resource for house restorers...."
"...a text that delves into the social history of the space and its inhabitants....subjects such as regional foodstuffs, domestic servants, home economics, and advertising are well covered....Excerpts from household manuals and diaries, quotations from notable figures, and recipes interspersed throughout the book are a charming addition to the text...Myriad illustrations are included, mostly of paintings, prints, and archival photographs that capture very well the activity of the kitchen..."
