Enjoy fast, FREE delivery, exclusive deals and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery

List Price: $30.00 Details

Save: $6.00 (20%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery June 14 - 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $25

Or fastest delivery June 12 - 19

Select delivery location

Available to ship in 1-2 days

[{"displayPrice":"$24.00","priceAmount":24.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"u23cAZIn51OwxznWE3i4XXeeRTcROPfkcVx8Gwf0b8uqY%2FTm3SSRODb0OT96hzs9MT2cfzw2GJtRfIHF9oWm63HqzaX9MNFmCr0qWY%2F58BWf68a%2Bb6rVOdS7D%2BeST2QiMYzMOD%2BbWhLmb%2Fm0%2F6heYg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$10.00","priceAmount":10.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"u23cAZIn51OwxznWE3i4XXeeRTcROPfk5kQdVkUJUTsLC6vfK8elqVk%2Fz73F6c5iIGvb8woH2ivWFp832GV0THKsDGBSFtNfTlLcCFDfm9h9nKrX2YZO3RBMSKFdCAG3SePlWpf%2FSv9jvn6ZKnsTdIamq9Vc4GA4g3QYydpyr1HQ7Y7t2vPgcMrOkBvb37WI","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$24.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Details

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Thursday, June 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $25

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by The Colorado Page Exchange

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$16.44
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: indoobestsellers

Added

Not added

$16.45
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: SuperBookDeals-

Added

Not added

$21.93
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: MyPrepbooks

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Adrian Miller

Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time Hardcover – August 15, 2013

by Adrian Miller (Author)

4.7 190 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$24.00

$16.44

$4.55

Spiral-bound

"Please retry"

$48.48

—

Kindle
$9.99 Read with Our Free App
Hardcover
$24.00

45 Used from $4.55 31 New from $16.44
Spiral-bound
$48.48

1 New from $48.48

Purchase options and add-ons

2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award, Reference and Scholarship
Honor Book for Nonfiction, Black Caucus of the American Library Association

In this insightful and eclectic history, Adrian Miller delves into the influences, ingredients, and innovations that make up the soul food tradition. Focusing each chapter on the culinary and social history of one dish--such as fried chicken, chitlins, yams, greens, and "red drinks--Miller uncovers how it got on the soul food plate and what it means for African American culture and identity.
Miller argues that the story is more complex and surprising than commonly thought. Four centuries in the making, and fusing European, Native American, and West African cuisines, soul food--in all its fried, pork-infused, and sugary glory--is but one aspect of African American culinary heritage. Miller discusses how soul food has become incorporated into American culture and explores its connections to identity politics, bad health raps, and healthier alternatives. This refreshing look at one of America's most celebrated, mythologized, and maligned cuisines is enriched by spirited sidebars, photographs, and twenty-two recipes.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date

August 15, 2013
Dimensions

6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

146963242X
ISBN-13

978-1469632421
See all details

Bought Together

Frequently bought together

Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time

$24.00

Available to ship in 1-2 days.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue (A Ferris and Ferris Book)

$23.86

Get it as soon as Wednesday, Jun 14

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

The President's Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to

$15.34

Get it Jun 16 - 22

Only 5 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by sweethomeliquid2.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

Lowest Pricein this set of products
Jessica B. Harris
1,446
Paperback
$12.99
Highest ratedin this set of products
Toni Tipton-Martin
4,111
Hardcover
$20.07
Most purchasedin this set of products
Rodney Scott
2,382
Hardcover
$15.67
This item:
Adrian Miller
190
Hardcover
$24.00
Adrian Miller
271
Hardcover
$23.86
Adrian Miller
162
Hardcover
$49.94
Frederick Douglass Opie
44
Paperback
$17.28
Michael W. Twitty
1,849
Paperback
$14.99
Anne Bower
17
Paperback
$23.00
Rosie Mayes
3,014
Paperback
$15.58
Bryant Terry
1,138
Hardcover
$24.49

Special offers and product promotions

90 days FREE of Amazon Music Unlimited. Included with purchase of an eligible product. You will receive an email with signup instructions. Renews automatically. New subscribers only. Terms apply. Offered by Amazon.com. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Editorial Reviews

Review

2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award, Reference and Scholarship

An engaging, tradition-rich look at an often overlooked American cuisine--certainly to be of interest to foodies from all walks of life.--Kirkus, starred review

[A] fascinating look at the cuisine known as soul food and its close cousin, southern cuisine. . . . Photographs and recipes add to the allure of this well-researched look at the past and future of soul food.--Booklist, starred review

[A] comprehensive and entertaining history of soul food. . . . A lively and thorough account for fans of food literature and of African American history. Recipes included. Highly recommended.--Library Journal

Focusing each chapter on the culinary and social history of one dish--such as fried chicken, chitlins, yams, greens and 'red drinks'--Miller uncovers how it got on the soul food plate and what it means for African-American culture and identity.--The Philadelphia Tribune

A wonderful combination of sociological examination of African-American culture and identity, travelogue and cookbook. . . . It's exactly this combination of earnest curiosity and an unwillingness to take his topic too seriously that makes Soul Food such a great read. . . . I highly recommend this book!--Nashville Scene

Miller moves way past common notions about soul food to offer a fascinating look at the cuisine and its close cousin, southern cooking.--Booklist Top 10 Food Books of 2013

Just the book to move readers from one end of the line to the other without getting bogged down. . . . Soul Food is ingenious . . . [and] speaks to the enduring mythological power of its staple dishes.--Michael Twitty, American Prospect

Most people don't know soul food the way Miller does. . . . Miller's book studies soul food mainly in terms of its quintessential ingredients or dishes. . . [and] along the way, he dishes up a few surprises.--Winston-Salem Journal

Miller's book is a mouth-watering tome that not only titillates the palate, but feeds the brain with science, geography and history.--Denver Westword

From the Back Cover

In this insightful and eclectic history, Adrian Miller delves into the influences, ingredients, and innovations that make up the soul food tradition. Focusing each chapter on the culinary and social history of one dish--such as fried chicken, chitlins, yams, greens, and "red drinks"--Miller uncovers how it got on the soul food plate and what it means for African American culture and identity.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press; Illustrated edition (August 15, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 146963242X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1469632421
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.12 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #321,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #130 in Soul Food Cooking, Food & Wine
- #385 in Gastronomy History (Books)
- #1,351 in African American Demographic Studies (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 190 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Adrian Miller

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

I'm a food writer, recovering attorney and certified barbecue judge who lives in Denver, CO. I am the current executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches. As such, I'm the first African American and the first layperson to hold that position.

I previously worked in politics: first, in the White House as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton; then as the general counsel and outreach director of the Bell Policy Center--a progressive think tank in Colorado, and then as a senior policy analyst for Colorado governor Bill Ritter Jr. I'm active in my community, and I've served on a number of boards, including the Southern Foodways Alliance.

My first book, "Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time" won the James Beard Foundation Award for Scholarship and Reference in 2014. My next book, "The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas" will be published on President's Day, 2017.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

190 global ratings

5 star		78%
4 star		14%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Kate Costello

Informative and helpful

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

I teach food and culture classes at a university and found this book to be an asset when teaching about American foodways. It is informative and easy to read.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 24, 2013

Verified Purchase

I'm fascinated by foodways. The first Thanksgiving dinner I prepared was for my nieces and nephews while their parents were away. I was 22 and had never cooked a turkey, much less an entire dinner. I worked in a DC restaurant and asked the cooks what I should make for sides. That's when I first heard about macaroni and cheese being a "must-have" dish for Thanksgiving. It never appeared on any of my family's feast tables. Mac and cheese was always an end-of-the-month budget stretching dish at our house. Greens too. My Southern mother would make a pot of greens and a pot of white beans with skillet cornbread as a budget-stretcher meal, never a celebration meal. If my dad was eating with us, he would get a pickled pig's foot to eat along with the greens and beans. Over the years after talking with friends and comparing our family's food traditions, I learned there are similarities and differences in white and black southern foodways.

In "Soul Food" culinary historian Adrian Miller explores the origins the foods that make up the quintessential soul food plate: greens, mac and cheese, fried chicken, beans, yams, corn bread and few more. It's a fascinating history of the Soul gastronomy. Back to mac and cheese -- originally a European dish made with costly and exotic ingredients introduced to Americans by Thomas Jefferson which became a luxury food of the wealthy white plantation table, prepared by enslaved people. As time went on, the ingredients for the dish became readily available commodities that were often included in the "poor boxes" distributed during the holiday season.

This year, I'm going to make some mac and cheese, using one of the recipes in "Soul Food" for my multicultural family's Thanksgiving feast, in honor of all the history that Adrian Miller chronicles, in honor of a shared culinary heritage, and in honor of the enduring struggle for social justice that has been played out in our changing foodways.

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

akareader

Soul Food: well researched history with recipes!!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

Defining "soul food" is a task that others have attempted; yet a precise definition remains elusive. Author and "soul foodie" Adrian Miller meticulously and lovingly researches the complex history and traditions of this uniquely American cuisine. Miller compares and contrasts soul food with southern and down home cooking. He does this through planning a hypothetical, traditional soul food meal and then dedicating an entire chapter to each of its components. With this method, Miller weaves African American culinary history from West Africa, the Atlantic slave trade, the antebellum era, post Civil War poverty across the South, Jim Crow, the Great Migration, the Civil Rights era, to modern attempts to revive soul food. Other ethnic foods have found a niche in the American fast food and medium food markets (think Olive Garden, Applebees as "medium"). Yet soul food remains largely regulated to homes, church dinners, and small, local restaurants. Miller's last chapter is appropriately titled, "Whither Soul Food?" as he explores the future of soul food.
Yes, there are recipes at the conclusion of each chapter! This is an excellent history book with flavor. I recommend this for book clubs for adults and teens, as the meetings could include sharing of recipes from the book.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Douglas Archerd

Fascinating View of American History

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book takes us down a tour of American history via a previously un-trammeled path and as a result provides fascinating insights far beyond its primary focus on American soul food. By thoroughly exploring the history and derivations of the cuisine that has come to be known today as soul food, the author takes us into the life and culture of American black slavery, the interactions between whites and blacks over that history, and some little-discussed aspects of what it means to be black in today's America. Yes, you'll get a great deal of information about the food, along with example recipes of each major type. But far more than that, you'll come away with a greatly increased understanding of American history and culture. Along the way, you'll learn some fascinating tidbits, such as why the color of your cornmeal matters (and why it is different in different parts of the country) and why red-colored drinks are a cliché in the African-American community. Highly recommended!

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jerry B

An excellent read.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

After reading Adrian's "Black Smoke" I knew that "Soul Food" was going to be next . Don't be mistaken, this is not a "Cookbook", but a history of African American cooking that just happens to have some amazing recipes.

I was not disappointed.

Helpful

Connie Loftman

Good resource for the home kitchen

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

Useful for trying some new recipes.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is the most interesting topic. It's true that you can tell a lot about a culture by their food. Everybody eats. Food has quite a story to tell!

Helpful

Mary Farrell

Very comprehensive picture

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

One of the most nuanced and comprehensive books on the history of African American food that I have come across. It avoids the simplistic view of many others on the subject.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Books, art & collectibles	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Sell on Amazon Start a Selling Account

Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	Amazon Fresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door	AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Experienced Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Ignite Sell your original Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Listen to Books & Original Audio Performances	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Box Office Mojo Find Movie Box Office Data	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	DPReview Digital Photography	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting

Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Prime Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy

Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Great Deals on Quality Used Products	Whole Foods Market America’s Healthiest Grocery Store	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Zappos Shoes & Clothing	Ring Smart Home Security Systems

eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room	Blink Smart Security for Every Home	Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts	Amazon Subscription Boxes Top subscription boxes – right to your door	PillPack Pharmacy Simplified	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust