Customer Reviews

The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book the same day it got a nice plug in the Washington Post's food section. This may have been a professional courtesy, as Beverly Bundy is food editor at the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram. However, as a longtime collector of books and pamphlets on American food history, I was shocked at the slapdash quality of this overhyped large-format book, which lists for the [$$$] I paid at my neighborhood bookseller.

The type is hard to read, especially when it appears over dark color screens. Full pages are are devoted to banal recipes for things like pineapple upside-cake, or clam dip, that just about everyone has already seen. The author has plenty of space for graphics, but despite the generous page size, many of the ads reproduced are too small to read without squinting, surrounded by overgenerous margins. The design of this book is kitchen-table awkward, unusual for a book of this price.

The images include such non-food head-scratchers as a U.S. Navy recruiting poster and a photograph of prospective immigrants at Ellis Island having their eyes inspected for trachoma. Granted, women in the workforce and immigration have had an impact on American food, but American food is what we bought this book, ostensibly, to read about. Such padding is frustrating considering the incredibly rich subject matter, much of which is still hanging around our mothers' kitchens, if not our own.

Bundy credits a scant 30 sources, and she appears to have borrowed heavily--very heavily--from several of them. There are disturbing similarities both in recipe selection and even in text to some of the pre-existing books. My copy of "The Century in Food" is plastered with annotated Post-Its after just one reading.

[...]

Both "Fashionable Food" and "Kitchen Culture" are meticulously edited, put together with loving care and LOTS more content than Bundy's book. ... I also recommend "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" (2001) by James Lileks, which is less comprehensive but extremely funny.

"The Century in Food" is a big waste of money, with the exception of Bundy's photo of the seven-cent Doritos bag, an artifact of my childhood. Nice to see it again, but it isn't worth [$$$].

This is probably one of the worst books on food history I've ever read. One would think that since the publisher released the book several months late, they might have used that extra time to proofread. The number of typographical errors truly astounded me, and made the book difficult, if not agonizing, to read. There is very little actual text, as this is primarily a picture book. While the pictures are of fine quality and brought back many memories, I noticed that the captions didn't always match up with the pictures. And while the brightly colored pages did make a visually interesting background, it also made the tiny type rather difficult to read. Overall, there is very little to learn from this book, and anyone who is interested in food history would be better served by one of the many other books already on the market.

The Century In Food: America's Fads And Favorites begins a culinary history of America in 1900, a time when most of the cooking was done in fireplaces and a slim figure was considered a mark of ill health. Author Beverly Bundy (Food Editor at The Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper) proceeds to provide a fascinating and informative survey of the inventions, innovations, and evolutions in American food preparation, culinary tastes, and a steadily expanding roster of recipe ingredients available to Americans whether eating at home or dining out. Although there are a wealth of featured and illustrative recipes, The Century In Food is more than just one more cookbook, it is also an informed and highly entertaining history of American culinary culture spread out over ten decades and enhanced with 400 full-color images. The Century In Food is highly recommended reading for both students of American Popular Culture and cookbook enthusiasts.

I eagerly anticipated this book because I am very interested in food history. As another reviewer mentioned, it is largely a collection of photographs, organized by decade, highlighting popular recipes, prepared foods, applicances and advertisements. As someone middle-aged with bifocals, I found the small print in this book extremely difficult to read. This difficulty is exacerbated by some of the color arrangements, which do not provide enough contrast between the color of the type and background. I know that I would really like this book -- if I could see the tiny print well enough to read it. Too frustrating. I would not buy this again.

This book helped me obtain an A in my US History Class. I found it very informative with lots of pictures. Its just detailed enough to be fun. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting just a tableside book or one for a report!

I don't understand the poor reviews. This book is best I have ever seen on American food fads. It shows how the advertising companies and the processed food industry colluded to create the typical American's rotten diet of chemically engineered and nutritionally stripped food! When you see all the cute ads in full color over the past century, it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out how this all came about. With Type 2 (preventable) diabetes skyrocketing in the USA, this book should be a part of every American history & Medical School curriculum! See: Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family (Fork and Spoon Field Guides) and Obesity as a major malnutrition issue: poor nutrition from overeating may become a primary killer.(Demography): An article from: The Futurist and Greens Are Good for You!: How Green Power Protects You Against Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, Macular Degeneration, Poor Night Vision, Senile Dementia, Liver Disease, fatigue (Basic Health Guides)

I was appalled and dismayed to read the tacky little review of Ms. Bundy's book, The Century in Food. Thanks to this book, I was led on a delightful romp through the foods and foolishness that defined us as American eaters during the past century.
Not only are the pictures entertaining and nostalgic, but I found myself quoting this book daily after devouring it one night.
I found The Century in Food to not only be a worthy addition to our American cultural discourse but the best conversation-enhancer I have come upon in years.
Our memories, our taste buds, and our buying habits are chronicled here and I, for one. am thrilled that Ms. Bundy has given us all this fodder to ponder.