How to Cook a Wolf (Paperback)

by M. F. K. Fisher (Author) "In spite of all the talk and study about our next years, and all the silent ponderings about what lies within them for our sons..." (more)
Key Phrases: pigeon cry, teaspoon soda, Carve the Wolf, Distribute Your Virtue, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose." -- W.H. Auden

"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose."--W.H. Auden

"Poet of the appetites."--John Updike

"She writes about fleeting tastes and feasts vividly, excitingly, sensuously, exquisitely. There is almost a wicked thrill in following her uninhibited track through the glories of the good life."--James Beard

"She writes about food as others do about love, but rather better."--Clifton Fadiman

"M.F.K. Fisher ... brings onstage a peach or a brace of quail and shows us history, cities, fantasies, memories, emotions."--Patricia Storace, The New York Review of Books

"M.F.K. Fisher is our greatest food writer because she puts food in the mount, the mind and the imagination all at the same time. Beyond the gastronomical bravura, she is a passionate woman; food is her metaphor."--Shana Alexander
-- Review

"M.F.K. Fisher ... brings onstage a peach or a brace of quail and shows us history, cities, fantasies, memories, emotions." -- Patricia Storace, The New York Review of Books

"M.F.K. Fisher is our greatest food writer because she puts food in the mount, the mind and the imagination all at the same time. Beyond the gastronomical bravura, she is a passionate woman; food is her metaphor." -- Shana Alexander

"Poet of the appetites." -- John Updike

"She writes about fleeting tastes and feasts vividly, excitingly, sensuously, exquisitely. There is almost a wicked thrill in following her uninhibited track through the glories of the good life." -- James Beard

"She writes about food as others do about love, but rather better." -- Clifton Fadiman

Review

"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose."--W.H. Auden

"Poet of the appetites."--John Updike

"She writes about fleeting tastes and feasts vividly, excitingly, sensuously, exquisitely. There is almost a wicked thrill in following her uninhibited track through the glories of the good life."--James Beard

"She writes about food as others do about love, but rather better."--Clifton Fadiman

"M.F.K. Fisher ... brings onstage a peach or a brace of quail and shows us history, cities, fantasies, memories, emotions."--Patricia Storace, The New York Review of Books

"M.F.K. Fisher is our greatest food writer because she puts food in the mount, the mind and the imagination all at the same time. Beyond the gastronomical bravura, she is a passionate woman; food is her metaphor."--Shana Alexander

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 216 pages Publisher: North Point Press (October 1, 1988) Language: English ISBN-10: 0865473366 ISBN-13: 978-0865473362 Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,012 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #45 in  Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Gastronomy > Essays #88 in  Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Reference

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
In spite of all the talk and study about our next years, and all the silent ponderings about what lies within them for our sons [Why only sons? Since I wrote this I have acquired two daughters, and they too shape the pattern's pieces, and the texture of my belief!] it seems plain to us that many things are wrong in the present ones that can be, must be, changed. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pigeon cry, teaspoon soda

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Carve the Wolf, Distribute Your Virtue, San Francisco, New York, Rise Up Like Nein Bread, Sheila Hibben, Sleek Pelt, World War

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 2 books:

• Abraham Lincoln (Pocket Biographies) by H.G. Pitt on page 31
• The Physiology of Taste: Or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy by M. F. K. Fisher on page 49

 

69 books cite this book:

• Conversations with M. F. K. Fisher (Literary Conversations Series) by David Lazar on 15 pages
• Poet of the Appetites: The Lives and Loves of M.F.K. Fisher by Joan Reardon on 7 pages
• Consuming Passions: A Feast of Quotations Celebrating Food and the Art of Dining by Jonathon Green on 6 pages
• The Art of Eating by M. F. K. Fisher on 5 pages
• A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told through Food, Recipes, and Remembrances by Laura Schenone on 4 pages

See all 69 books citing this book

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	79% buy the item featured on this page: How to Cook a Wolf 4.7 out of 5 stars (6) $10.20
	14% buy The Art of Eating 4.8 out of 5 stars (27) $16.47
	3% buy The Gastronomical Me 4.1 out of 5 stars (9) $10.20
	2% buy Long Ago In France: The Years In Dijon (Destinations) 4.7 out of 5 stars (7) $12.55

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews 5 star:  (5) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 46 of 46 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual writing for unusual times, May 1, 2001 By  Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)       M.F.K. Fisher was a superb writer. And she lived in "interesting times" in Europe and California. How to Cook a Wolf pitted her inate love of food and cuisine against some severe times when money might be short or food was rationed. Her strange sense of humor and practical outlook are interesting; for example, she gives a recipe for a sludge to keep body (if not soul) alive. The instructions begin with borrowing 50 cents to buy the ingredients; hamburger, wilted vegetables. The resulting mush can be used as a nutritious dog food, or a staple to survive on. She even claims it can be quite acceptable fried as scrapple, but then you'd have to have some cooking fat (and even that could be hard to come by.) In these times of plenty, it's hard to relate to this book except to read Fisher's ideas and fantastic prose; the section on "Sue" (really California artist and etcher Nel Coover) who survived and entertained her guests with wild ice plants, seaweed and stolen eggs and potatoes is captivating. If you have never read any M.F.K. Fisher, start with "The Measure of My Powers", but if you have read her, and if you have developed a taste for her marvelous writing, this is one of her famous works that is unique and interesting. 22 of 22 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, December 6, 1996 By A Customer Not only could she write with style, wit and warmth, she could also "serve it forth" -- the recipes really work! Especially the prune roast (it sounds dopey, but it sure is great!!). I'm hooked. 26 of 27 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Overrated as a food writer?! Underrated as a writer!, April 20, 1998 By  [e-mail] (Bellevue, Washington) - See all my reviews I can't vouch for her recipes but I can speak for her prose. I picked up this book for pure entertainment and found it. Fisher's conversation is elegant, entertaining, and educational, and her advice is at times amusing, at times timeless.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars What a read! Ms. Fisher was writing in Europe during WW2; due to wartime rationing and shortages, the wolf seemed literally to hover near the door. Fine, she says, a wolf! Read more Published on May 25, 2007 by M. S. Casill 5.0 out of 5 stars This is it! The First Edition of Wolf! The famous and funny book by MFK Fisher. I love the title alone. (meant to refer to the wolf at the door! Read more Published on September 22, 2006 by a-to-b books 3.0 out of 5 stars MFK Fisher is somewhat over-rated as a food writer MFK Fisher is somewhat over-rated as a food writer. This book has interest because it was written when food rationing was in force due to WWII. Read more Published on January 27, 1998 by ramonam Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: North Point Press (October 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865473366
• ISBN-13: 978-0865473362
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,012 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #45 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Gastronomy > Essays
  #88 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Reference

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual writing for unusual times, May 1, 2001

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

M.F.K. Fisher was a superb writer. And she lived in "interesting times" in Europe and California. How to Cook a Wolf pitted her inate love of food and cuisine against some severe times when money might be short or food was rationed. Her strange sense of humor and practical outlook are interesting; for example, she gives a recipe for a sludge to keep body (if not soul) alive. The instructions begin with borrowing 50 cents to buy the ingredients; hamburger, wilted vegetables. The resulting mush can be used as a nutritious dog food, or a staple to survive on. She even claims it can be quite acceptable fried as scrapple, but then you'd have to have some cooking fat (and even that could be hard to come by.)

In these times of plenty, it's hard to relate to this book except to read Fisher's ideas and fantastic prose; the section on "Sue" (really California artist and etcher Nel Coover) who survived and entertained her guests with wild ice plants, seaweed and stolen eggs and potatoes is captivating.

If you have never read any M.F.K. Fisher, start with "The Measure of My Powers", but if you have read her, and if you have developed a taste for her marvelous writing, this is one of her famous works that is unique and interesting.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, December 6, 1996

By A Customer

Not only could she write with style, wit and warmth, she could also "serve it forth" -- the recipes really work! Especially the prune roast (it sounds dopey, but it sure is great!!). I'm hooked.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overrated as a food writer?! Underrated as a writer!, April 20, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Bellevue, Washington) - See all my reviews

I can't vouch for her recipes but I can speak for her prose. I picked up this book for pure entertainment and found it. Fisher's conversation is elegant, entertaining, and educational, and her advice is at times amusing, at times timeless.