Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America [Hardcover]

Harvey Levenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 1993

America has always been blessed with an abundance of food, but when it comes to the national diet, it is a land of stark contrast and paradox. In the early months of the Depression, for instance, there were 82 breadlines in New York City alone, and food riots broke out in such places as Henryetta, Oklahoma, and England, Arkansas. Yet at the same time, among those who were better-off, absurd weight-loss diets were the rage - the Pineapple-and-Lamb-Chop Diet, the "Mayo Diet" of raw tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs, and even a Coffee-and-Donuts Diet. Why do Americans eat what they eat? And why, in a land of plenty, do so many eat so poorly? In Paradox of Plenty, Harvey Levenstein offers a sweeping social history of food and eating in America, exploring the economic, political, and cultural factors that have shaped the American diet from 1930 to the present. Levenstein begins with the Great Depression, describing the breadlines and the slim-down diets, the era's great communal eating fests - the picnics, barbecues, fish fries, and burgoo feasts - and the wave of "vitamania" which swept the nation before World War II, breeding fears that the national diet was deficient in the so-called "morale vitamin." He discusses wartime food rationing and the attempts of Margaret Mead and other social scientists to change American eating habits, and he examines the postwar "Golden Age of American Food Processing, " when Duncan Hines and other industry leaders convinced Americans that they were "the best-fed people on Earth." He depicts the disillusionment of the 1960s, when Americans rediscovered hunger and attacked food processors for denutrifying the food supply, and he shows how President Kennedy helpedrevive the mystique of French food (and how Julia Child helped demystify it). Finally, he discusses contemporary eating habits, the national obsession with dieting, cholesterolphobia, "natural" foods, the demographics of fast-food chains, and the expanding role of food processors

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Smoothly written and full of information, this ambitious history sometimes emphasizes detail at the expense of overarching themes. Levenstein ( Revolution at the Table ) begins with the Great Depression, moving chronologically and alternating between discussions of government policies for hunger-relief and the development of culinary tastes. The author resurrects much valuable material: how thiamine was promoted as the "morale vitamin during WW II"; how Italian-Americans, virtually alone among immigrants, resisted Americanization of their cuisine; how the 1950s were the "Golden Age for American food chemistry"; how the barbecue boom of the 1960s was the first step to men sharing cooking responsibilities; how Mexican food boomed not in the American Southwest but in New York City. Levenstein's discussion of the "plenty" is richer than his account of the "paradox"; a study of poverty food programs could have made a separate book. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In his lively, entertaining study of America's eating habits from 1930 to the present, Levenstein (history, McMaster Univ.) explores the disturbing existence of hunger in the midst of agricultural abundance. Describing the economic, political, and cultural factors that have influenced the American diet, he exposes the role that major food processors, the medical establishment, and the American government have played in modifying the taste buds and nutritional ideas of its citizens while ignoring the plight of its increasing numbers of malnourished poor. He also examines the national obsession with dieting and the impact on eating habits of married women entering the work force in record numbers. Well written and thoroughly researched, this overview gathers together information that many health and food enthusiasts will find interesting and enlightening.
- Linda Chopra, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 14, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195055438
• ISBN-13: 978-0195055436
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #716,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, June 28, 2007

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Nadocrew (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America, Revised Edition (California Studies in Food and Culture) (Paperback)

I had to read this for my class, but it is a very interesting. If you are into the history of the American diet I would highly recommend this book.