The American Plate

A Culinary History in 100 Bites

For generations, people have proudly defined themselves and their values through their national cuisine. But American food, like its history, is a world of its own. This enticingly fresh audiobook introduces modern listeners to lost American food traditions and leads them on a tantalizing culinary journey through the evolution of our vibrant cuisine and culture. Covering a hundred different foods from the Native American-era through today and featuring over a dozen recipes and photos, this fascinating history of American food will delight history buffs and food lovers alike.

©2014 Libby H. O’Connell (P)2014 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The American Plate is an engagingly readable history of American food." (Bee Wilson, author of Consider the For)

Interesting material that the narrator dumbs down

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes. Once.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jefferson and his adventurous palate

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator used a generally chirpy tone I associate with many elementary school teachers. That's fine if you are a third grader, but I felt spoken down too. The author seemed bent on making the material really interesting--for children--rather than letting the material stand on its own.

Could you see The American Plate being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

A TV series, yes. Food is a great vehicle for teaching history. How about a series hosted by Rachel Ray and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Any additional comments?

Given a choice between the print version and the audio version of this book--take the print. Hands down.

The political opinions sprinkled through out.

I enjoyed the history, but was annoyed at the politics. There were opinions (not fact) thrown around. While it's fine to have opinions, don't write as though they are facts (The Tea Party's primary theme was anti-immigrant, Americans are fat because of cheese, who are "real americans"). If she has only done surface research about some topics (or doesn't really care about the truth), what else isn't true?