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The Shameless Carnivore: A Manifesto for Meat Lovers [Hardcover]

Scott Gold
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)


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Book Description

March 18, 2008
The average American consumes 218.3 pounds of meat every year. But in the face of concerns about Mad Cow disease, dubious industrial feedlot practices, and self-righteous vegetarians, the carnivorous lifestyle has become somewhat déclassé. Now, Scott Gold issues a red-blooded call to arms for the meat-adoring masses to rise up, speak out, and reclaim their pride. 

The Shameless Carnivore explores the complexities surrounding the choice to eat meat, as well as its myriad pleasures. Delving into everything from ethical issues to dietary, anthropological and medical findings, Gold answers such probing questions as: Can staying carnivorous be more healthful than going vegetarian? What’s behind the “tastes like chicken” phenomenon?  And, of course, what qualities should you look for in a butcher? The author also chronicles his attempt to become the ultimate carnivore by eating thirty-one different meats as well as every part, cut and organ of a cow (including tasty recipes), describes hunting squirrels in Louisiana, and even spends an entire, painstaking week as a vegetarian.

From the critter dinners he relished as a child to his adult forays into exotic game and adventures in the kitchen, Gold writes with an infectious enthusiasm that might just inspire readers to serve a little llama or rattlesnake at their next dinner party. This is the definitive book for meat lovers.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his first book, former literary agent Gold sets out to probe the joys and mysteries of meat eating. According to his research, the ability to track and hunt for meat, whether hooved, clawed or winged, aided in the development of human intelligence, so we are destined to eat it. But as a carnivore with few qualms about meats, Gold is better equipped than most for this celebration of the meat-eating life. The bulk of the book chronicles his self-described month of meat, in which the author ate 31 kinds of meat in as many days. Alternating between the mundane (chicken) and the exotic (llama), he takes his culinary pilgrimage as seriously as a journey through a country or subculture, something many food writers are doing these days. The result is a hipsterish, lad-lit quasi-travelogue à la Julia and Julia. He takes on filet of ostrich and bull pizzle, vegetarianism and veganism, and argues that the indirect effects of such ethical and dietary lifestyle choices sometimes do more harm than the decision to butcher a single animal. The last and best part of his book is the Tour de Boeuf, which takes Gold through the butchering of a live bovine to the eating of various innards and offal. Fun, though somewhat frivolous, with recipes and sidebars. (Mar)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"[Gold's] often amusing first-person account of acquiring, cooking, serving and eating his prey is interspersed with occasional recitations of fun factorids. As a writer, Gold is entertaining, with a punchy, extemporaneous tone that sounds like as if he were doing stand-up. He goes for the laughs and often gets them." -- Holly Brubach, The New York Times Style Magazine

"[Gold's] book is laugh-out-loud funny. But it is also quite thoughtful." --Judy Walker, The Times-Picayune

"[Gold] has devoted a good portion of the book to the ethics of eating animals, the comparative merits (taste, health and conscience) of organic and free-range meats and the (rightly) exalted status of the responsible hunter. Gold has the utmost respect for "the integrity of meat" and demonstrates it brilliantly throughout his book." --Christine Sismondo, The Toronto Star

"The Shameless Carnivore
is an unapologetically funny, provacative yet meticulously researched examination of the author's red-blooded appetite. The book also maps out the culture wars involving omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, PETA and animal slaughter." --Alexandyr Kent, The Shreveport Times

"Rare in the growing tide of books on vegetarian cooking, Gold's memoir of meat is well done. And while he offers bites of history and health in his "Manifesto for Meat Lovers," the meat of his tale is his mission to eat 31 different meats - from alligator to yak - in 31 days. Our advice to anyone who would try to mimic the good-humored author: Don't fill up on bread!" --Bill Heller, The New York Post

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1ST edition (March 18, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 076792651X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0767926515
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,606,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Although author Scott Gold's account of his personal exploration of the.. Matthew David Brozik  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars marvelously meaty reading! April 25, 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Being from New Orleans also, I derived a certain amount of satisfaction from the Scott's accurate depictions of some of my favorite haunts. Although Port of Call did not make the final publication, there's certainly an honorable mention in the blog. And he was right on the money with Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (it's true that all a good-quality steak really needs is salt, pepper and butter) and Brightsen's.

If I were to mix media and compare Scott to other food writers/personalities, I'd say that he's the unholy love-child of Alton Brown and Anthony Bourdain. His gastronomic adventures are fast approaching Anthony's without the benefit of having traveled to Cambodia and Sub-saharan Africa, and his educational lessons are peppered with funny anecdotes that keep the reader's interest. What keeps Scott's stories fresh and vibrant is his lack of professional experience in the kitchen. Setting out to cook something you've prepared a hundred times in the past isn't nearly as interesting as experimenting and living with the results -- excellent, or merely mediocre.

Of notable worth is the tale of the guinea pig dinner and the open letter to PETA. When Scott calls them out for the hypocrites they are, it makes you realize that the time of the carnivores is at hand. Meat is NOT murder, and it sure is tasty!
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good meaty reading April 25, 2008
Format:Hardcover
At the outset, I had mixed emotions about meat eating. Not only have I questioned the merits of meat-eating, but also the agro-industrial complex that produces our USDA Prime. I was happy to see that Gold has the same questions as I do and addresses them in this book. A crucial and highly pivotal moment of the book occurs when Gold shares a story about his brother, a devout Buddhist, living on a monastery. Gold goes to the root of ancient wisdom and give the reader a lot to chew on. Mr. Gold is a funny writer, but the book goes beyond hoopla to critically examine what has happened to our meat supply as a result our of uncontrollable carnivorism and most importantly, how a reverence for life and the animals we eat will result in better lives for all involved.
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun journey through the universe of eating meat April 1, 2008
Format:Hardcover
Mr. Gold written a thoroughly entertaining, informative, interesting, and fun book. Quite zealous about meat in general and most food from meat in particular, Scott takes us through a journey of the strange and wonderful meats he east, both delicious (most) and disgusting (few). His accounts of 31 animals in 31 days, the Testicle Festival in Montana, slaughtering a cow and eating each edible part of the cow are all fun to read and informative. He walks the line between being fun and humorous and investigating the philosophical and scientific issues surrounding carnivorism. I recommend this book for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike as all can learn a thing or two about the cuts of beef, the Tibetan take on eating meat, and the heath issues of eating meat. It made me hungry and want to try some more non-traditional foods!
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Meat-arific. April 24, 2008
Format:Hardcover
As an avid chili fan, I need meat, and I love food writing- anything from the perfect prose of A.J. Liebling to Michael Pollan's (often unrealistic) findings, to Barry Glassner's sensible advice. This addition to the food-lit canon is funny, informative, and adventurous. Such a fun time reading this, and I think we need a book that celebrates the guilt-free glutton. There's way too many brilliant meat dishes out there. Americans over-intellectualize their food, when they should be out enjoying the possibilities!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Some blogs should stay online November 1, 2010
Format:Hardcover
75% five-star reviews? Really??? I wonder how many of those reviews are written by friends of the author. Two admittedly are and judging by the fact that a large number of the rest are by writers from NYC (where the author lives) I'd imagine quite a few others are also. Standard practice as far as Amazon goes, I guess, but it does give a skewed perspective of the merits of this book.

A previous reviewer was upset because Amazon recommended Scott Gold's book for purchasers of Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and I can certainly understand his or her disappointment. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" was a thoughtful examination of the process of how we obtain food; "The Shameless Carnivore" is largely a cheerleading book for meat-eaters. Gold has done some research and there is some interesting information included within but the jokey, sophomoric tone is off-putting. He's the type of the writer who will follow an anecdote with the one-word sentence, "Snap!" While I agree that not every writer needs to emulate Pollan, I do expect something more from a book than, "We ate (insert name of obscure meat) and it was awesome!!" This book may have made a mildly diverting blog but frankly, I want something more for my $25.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Informative April 26, 2008
By Yvo S.
Format:Hardcover
I thought this book was very informative while not taking itself too seriously. A lot of "food for thought" in its points about not succumbing to gluttony nor to extremist tactics such as giving up all meat in efforts to remain healthy (extremist tactics rarely work for anything!). Even while explaining why we should know where our meat comes from, and being basically a love letter to meat of all kinds (except bull penis; apparently that is just too tough to swallow, no pun intended), it remains a fun and light hearted read. Honestly, I actually decided to cut way back on my (what I thought was fairly normal!) meat consumption; Mr. Gold points out all too reasonably that eating fantastic meat less often is better than eating mediocre meat daily. I concur.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Goofy, Often Juvenile, and Clearly Not Sure of His Mind - or Facts!
Simply read the other two 2-star ratings and you get an exact indication of what is wrong with this book. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Master Hahn
1.0 out of 5 stars Unintelligent and poorly researched
I recently finished this book. I found it to be quite ridiculous with no real thinking or thorough research in any of its pages. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Jay
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
It's a pretty good book, great condition. It's interesting not what I thought It'd be, but still good.
Published on October 7, 2010 by ash
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, sincere, and informative
I eat less meat than average and formerly stuck with the "healthy" meats like chicken or fish, but my vegetarian sister must consider me a savage carnivore because she suggested... Read more
Published on September 1, 2008 by T. Moran
5.0 out of 5 stars Meaty stuff
Great to see a well considered thoughtful approach to the matter of meat eating. Shows up the illogical rantings of PETA and thier ilk for what they truly are
Published on May 11, 2008 by Primary Producer
5.0 out of 5 stars An offally good read.
Although author Scott Gold's account of his personal exploration of the.. er, meats and bounds of his carnivoracity purports to be a call to arms for those who enjoy feeding on... Read more
Published on May 8, 2008 by Matthew David Brozik
5.0 out of 5 stars A Carnivorous Delight
This is not simply a passionate sermon, espousing the many virtues of meat-eating. It is a thoroughly-documented and heartily-researched adventure with our timeless friend meat as... Read more
Published on April 30, 2008 by M. Moreau
5.0 out of 5 stars A serious carnivore
With tons of "foodie" books being published every day I was initially skeptical of Gold's culinary know-how and unbiased opinions, but after reading the first few chapters I had to... Read more
Published on April 28, 2008 by Ivan Beacco
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Fast, Informative Read
Although he packs in a lot of information, this book was still a lot of fun and an easy read. There are a lot of great stories in there about all the different and exotic meats he... Read more
Published on April 26, 2008 by M. Torres
5.0 out of 5 stars A well-researched manifesto
In response to the "Shameless Disappointment" reviewer, is all food writing now supposed to imitate Michael Pollan? Read more
Published on April 25, 2008 by C. Erway
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