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American Food Writing: An Anthology: With Classic Recipes | 
 enlarge | Creator: Molly O'neill
Publisher: Library of America
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $17.98
You Save: $22.02 (55%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 37345
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 775
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.5
ISBN: 1598530054
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5
EAN: 9781598530056
ASIN: 1598530054
Publication Date: April 19, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Publisher: Library of AmericaDate of Publication: 2007Binding: hardcover
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Book Description
In a groundbreaking new anthology, celebrated food writer Molly O'Neill gathers the very best from over 250 years of American culinary history. This literary feast includes classic accounts of iconic American foods: Henry David Thoreau on the delights of watermelon; Herman Melville, with a mouth-watering chapter on clam chowder; H. L. Mencken on the hot dog; M.F.K. Fisher in praise of the oyster; Ralph Ellison on the irresistible appeal of baked yam; William Styron on Southern fried chicken. American writers abroad, like A. J. Liebling, Waverly Root, and Craig Claiborne, describe the revelations they found in foreign restaurants; travellers to America, including the legendary French gourmet J. A. Brillat-Savarin, discover such native delicacies as turkey, Virginia barbecue, and pumpkin pie. Great chefs and noted critics discuss their culinary philosophies and offer advice on the finer points of technique; home cooks recount disasters and triumphs. A host of eminent American writers, from Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Walt Whitman to Thomas Wolfe, Willa Cather, and Langston Hughes, add their distinctive viewpoints to the mix. American Food Writing celebrates the astonishing variety of American foodways, with accounts from almost every corner of the country and a host of ethnic traditions: Dutch, Cuban, French, Italian, Jewish, Chinese, Irish, Indian, Scandinavian, Native American, African, English, Japanese, and Mexican. A surprising range of subjects and perspectives emerge, as writers address such topics as fast food, hunger, dieting, and the relationship between food and sex. James Villas offers a behind-the-scenes look at gourmet dining through a waiter's eyes; Anthony Bourdain recalls his days at the Culinary Institute of America; Julia Child remembers the humble beginnings of her much-loved television series; Nora Ephron chronicles internecine warfare among members of the "food establishment;" Michael Pollan explores what the label "organic" really means. Throughout the anthology are more than 50 classic recipes, selected after extensive research from cookbooks both vintage and modern, and certain to instruct, delight, and inspire home chefs.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Big and Clumsy Book is (whisper) Boring March 8, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was very excited about this book, intending to curl up with it and enjoy reading it. But this book is so clumsily printed, that was impossible. It's too fat and wide, and the print runs so close to the inner spine, you have to turn it just so and press the paper with your thumb, to hold the pages open to read it. Weird.
Worse yet, the book is (whisper) boring. I paged through more of it than I read. The short intros the author wrote before each piece were unnecessary, repetitious and just so much throat-clearing before we could get to the Food Writing we got the book for, like a long introduction of the main speaker.
I think the difficulty holding the big clunky book and being unable to just relax and read it colored my whole experience with this book. But even if that were fixed in future editions, so much of the Food Writing included was just plain boring.
 Definative Anthology December 3, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I received my copy of this book from Ms O'Neill after accompanying her and her associate, Nora Sherman, on a visit to Northern Minnesota, where they gathered recipes and stories for her next book, which is to be an anthology of American Home Cooking.
I've read many anthologies, but never really appreciated the meaning of the term until reading Molly O'Neill's "American Food Writing". Formed by the Greek words "anthos" (flower) and "logia" (collecting), the word implies a patient and studied selection of exemplars of the subject, incorporating just a bit of spontaneousness and personal preference.
MFK Fisher is my favorite food writer, and I was anxious to see which of her works had been chosen for this book. I was not surprised to see "A Lusty Bit of Nourishment" from "Consider the Oyster", since it's one of her best known pieces, (although not one of my own favorites), but the second selection, "Define This Word" from "Gastronomical Me" came as a complete surprise, and impressed upon me Ms O'Neill's mastery of this particular literary form.
Despite being quite familiar with Fisher's books, I'll admit that I didn't even recognize the story by it's title. In rendering this almost mystical tale of a meal eaten alone during the off-season in a famous restaurant in Northern Burgundy, prepared by the oft-referenced but invisible chef, "Monsieur Paul", and attended to by a young servant "almost fanatical about food, like a medieval woman possessed by the devil.", MFK Fisher could arguably be said to have created an entire new sub-genre of food writing.
That Molly O'Neill would recognize this, and choose it from the volumes of stories written by MFK Fisher, speaks volumes of her own talent. Thus, I highly recommend this book, along with any other anthologies she has written, or will write.
A Tasting Menu December 3, 2007
Every anthology has a mission. AMERICAN FOOD WRITING is an anthology in search of completeness, and its success there justifies its price. There are 162 entries, beginning with Peter Kahn in 1716 and ending with Michael Pollen, 2006. Walt Whitman discusses ice cream, Langston Hughes and LeRoi Jones each have strong opinions on soul food, and Wendell Berry is poetic on the subject of eating. There are also the usual suspects. This magnificent breadth is the book's great strength, and also its flaw. You will be able to read only a couple of pages, at best, of any one writer. Many of the included writers also present their recipes, and you can try them out: potted lobster, Roman punch, Yellowfin tuna burgers, Toll House cookies. Molly O'Neill's introductory essay is worth the price of admission, a great short course in American food writing. She says, "Every meal is a new beginning." Definitely American.
American Food Writing: Grazing At Its Best December 3, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
American Food Writing: An Anthology: With Classic Recipes This is a classic grazing opportunity for folks who love to read about food without actually preparing it. I love cookbooks and food writing; I rarely "cook" anything. This is a superbly edited collection, from Thomas Jefferson on ice cream to David Sedaris' "Today's Special"....the reader can taste - put it down - come back for another taste and always feel satisfied.
Good, but could be better September 17, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The idea behind this book is fabulous. A book about American food writing? Of course! The book is made up of excerpts from books, articles, etc by various authors spanning American history from the beginning to the present. Not much history about the authors is given except a little blurb before their excerpts, and no history about the time period or social culture of the time is included. It's pure food writing. I admit, some of the older works are just plain boring to me and I find them hard to slog through. But I'm sticking with it and have found several authors whose works and books I will be looking for. I am halfway through the book now. It's improving and becoming more interesting and relevant as one gets to the more modern authors. The only real complaint I have so far is the fact that the recipes included have nothing to do with the experts they proceed or follow. After reading about fabulous baked beans, i want a recipe for those beans. Or at least some beans. Not something totally irrelevant. If recipes were to be included in this book, some thought should have been given to what recipes to include and where best to put them rather than slapping random samplings between articles in as breaks.
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