List Price: $29.95 Details

Save: $19.21 (64%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery: Monday, Aug 30 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.

$$10.74 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from	Amazon
Sold by	PRIME-BOOKS

Details

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

PRIME-BOOKS

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

FREE delivery: Aug 30 - Sep 3

Fastest delivery: Aug 24 - 26

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta

Share <Embed>

Other Sellers on Amazon

$16.16
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: ABMarket1

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

Andrew F. Smith

The Turkey: AN AMERICAN STORY (The Food Series) Hardcover – September 22, 2006

by Andrew F. Smith (Author)

6 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$12.25

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$16.62

$4.32

$8.07

Hardcover, September 22, 2006

$10.74

$2.95

Paperback, Illustrated

"Please retry"

$5.70

$5.65

$3.47

“Talking turkey” about the bird you thought you knew

Fondly remembered as the centerpiece of family Thanksgiving reunions, the turkey is a cultural symbol as well as a multi-billion dollar industry. As a bird, dinner, commodity, and as a national icon, the turkey has become as American as the bald eagle (with which it actually competed for supremacy on national insignias).

Food historian Andrew F. Smith’s sweeping and multifaceted history of Meleagris gallopavo separates fact from fiction, serving as both a solid historical reference and a fascinating general read. With his characteristic wit and insatiable curiosity, Smith presents the turkey in ten courses, beginning with the bird itself (actually several different species of turkey) flying through the wild. The Turkey subsequently includes discussions of practically every aspect of the iconic bird, including the wild turkey in early America, how it came to be called “turkey,” domestication, turkey mating habits, expansion into Europe, stuffing, conditions in modern industrial turkey factories, its surprising commercial history of boom and bust, and its eventual ascension to holiday mainstay.

As one of the easiest of foods to cook, the turkey’s culinary possibilities have been widely explored if little noted. The second half of the book collects an amazing array of over one hundred historical and modern turkey recipes from across America and Europe. From sandwiches to salmagundi, you’ll find detailed instructions on nearly every variation on the turkey. Historians will enjoy a look back at the varied appetites of their ancestors and seasoned cooks will have an opportunity to reintroduce a familiar food in forgotten ways.

Print length

264 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of Illinois Press
Publication date

September 22, 2006
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0252031636
ISBN-13

978-0252031632
See all details

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Food historian Smith, editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, discusses both fact and myth in this thorough and multifaceted history of the turkey. Smith believes the quintessentially American bird (we consume 240 million of them a year) can tell us about cultural issues and reveal something about being American. Dividing the book into a section on the turkey's history and another on historical recipes, the author hopes to give a comprehensive accounting of the bird. Beginning with a scientific description, the historical section covers turkey bones found in North America dating to 3700 B.C., then moves on to the introduction of domesticated turkeys into Europe by explorers of the New World. Methods of cooking from the 16th through the 19th centuries and efforts to preserve the disappearing wild turkey in the early 20th century follow. Even the turkey trot gets a mention. Short chapter sections keep the reading flowing, but the eye-glazing number of facts and dry prose can be overwhelming. Still, Smith has produced a well-researched, comprehensive, though somewhat scattered account of the bird most people take for granted. 22 photos. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description

“Talking turkey” about the bird you thought you knew

Fondly remembered as the centerpiece of family Thanksgiving reunions, the turkey is a cultural symbol as well as a multi-billion dollar industry. As a bird, dinner, commodity, and as a national icon, the turkey has become as American as the bald eagle (with which it actually competed for supremacy on national insignias).

Food historian Andrew F. Smith’s sweeping and multifaceted history of Meleagris gallopavo separates fact from fiction, serving as both a solid historical reference and a fascinating general read. With his characteristic wit and insatiable curiosity, Smith presents the turkey in ten courses, beginning with the bird itself (actually several different species of turkey) flying through the wild. The Turkey subsequently includes discussions of practically every aspect of the iconic bird, including the wild turkey in early America, how it came to be called “turkey,” domestication, turkey mating habits, expansion into Europe, stuffing, conditions in modern industrial turkey factories, its surprising commercial history of boom and bust, and its eventual ascension to holiday mainstay.

As one of the easiest of foods to cook, the turkey’s culinary possibilities have been widely explored if little noted. The second half of the book collects an amazing array of over one hundred historical and modern turkey recipes from across America and Europe. From sandwiches to salmagundi, you’ll find detailed instructions on nearly every variation on the turkey. Historians will enjoy a look back at the varied appetites of their ancestors and seasoned cooks will have an opportunity to reintroduce a familiar food in forgotten ways.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Illinois Press; 1st edition (September 22, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0252031636
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0252031632
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,819,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,079 in Poultry Cooking
- #3,892 in Holiday Cooking (Books)
- #5,270 in Gastronomy History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
6 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		65%
4 star		35%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How are ratings calculated?