Customer Reviews

Food and Culture: A Reader

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4 star:		(1)
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Food and culture are examined in 28 essays by noted anthropologists and other social scientists in this uneven but valuable survey.
Reading some of the academese is like treading molasses, but the collection is redeemed by such gems as Brumberg's examination of the Victorian roots of anorexia nervosa, Sobo's study of the social meanings of obesity in Jamaica, and Harris' "The Abominable Pig". Other writers explore such issues as breast-feeding, "industrial food", and hunger.
Very interesting and worthwhile for those interested in the deeper meanings of food and eating.

(The numerical rating above is an ineradicable feature of this page. This reviewer does nor employ numerical ratings.)

Rarely does one edited volume do such a good job of covering the essential essays about a topic. Counihan and Van Esterik do just that in their well-wrought _Food and Culture_. They skillfully offer food in an anthropological and historical perspective, giving attention to feminist, structuralist, semiotic, and other approaches. The essays themselves are effectively trimmed down by the editors, and the resulting book is consistently rewarding.

The book is weak on vegetarianism, meat as meaning, post-structuralism, and fast food, and could use a bit of help on "ethnic" uses of food. The addition of Doris Witt, Eric Schlosser, and Judith Farquhar would be helpful. It also lacks Peter Singer's new classic, "The Singer Solution to World Poverty." A second edition with these modifications would be welcome!

This book can rival, supplant, or supplement most any professor's undergraduate reading packet on the anthropology of food. Truly well-done. Probably a staple meal on campuses for years to come.

BEWARE false advertising! I designed a college course/independent study for myself using this book and several others as the basis for the curriculum. Because the course description and bibliography were due before the book was scheduled to arrive, I used Amazon's "Look Inside" tool to check out the Table of Contents and get specifics on the book. The book arrived today, and the essays contained within it are very much different from the ones listed in the Table of Contents that I viewed. When you view the table of contents via "Look Inside", there is a warning that says: "Just so you know...This view is of the Hardcover edition (1997) from Routledge. The Paperback edition (2007) from Routledge that you originally viewed is the one you'll receive if you click the Add to Cart button at left." What the warning doesn't specify is that the paperback version you will receive actually contains some of the same but mostly many different essays than the ones shown in the "Look Inside." There are many essays I had planned to use in my studies that are not included in the version I received at all. Sorry Amazon, but I'm really disappointed in you on this one. It sounded like the only difference was that I'd be receiving the 2007 paperback version instead of the 1997 hardcover version. If the content of the book is different, I call it false advertising not to inform the customer of that very important detail prior to ordering.

I assigned this text almost unseen as a course book because it included so many of the classic essays which one might have ended up xeroxing. The students found the book very useful. I would have liked a more historical focus but that's because of my own training. I will assign the book again.

As a broad review of food culture from a sociological/anthropological perspective, "Food and Culture" provides an excellent starting point. At over 600 pages with 36 articles on a wide variety of food issues, editors Carole Counihan and Penny Van Esterik have compiled a resource that represents major topics on the subject. Essays are categorized under four major subject headings including "Foundations", "Gender and Consumption", "Food and Identity Politics", and "Political Economy of Food".

The essays are written by well-established authors, who provide a wealth of insight into their areas of expertise. The essays are in-depth and dig deep into the heart of each issue. Counihan and Esterik have done an excellent job of revising the text through adding further material in the second edition.

While I found the book to be immensely helpful, I would not recommend it to someone just starting their studies of food culture. The articles assume a well-rounded understanding of sociological principles and can be a bit overwhelming the first time through. I read the book as part of a sociology "Food and Culture" class and at times found myself having to reread articles in order to extract the full meaning. The reader contributed greatly to my understanding and provided a basis for further research, but I found myself struggling through sometimes tedious and lengthy articles.

I would recommend this reader to anyone looking to expand their sociological knowledge or as a text in an advance sociology course. It is a great value for the number of articles that it features and the array of issues that it covers. I plan to keep the reader as a reference book and to review as I encounter food culture issues in the future.

The book got here in great condition and as quick as promised. Just as announced.