How America Eats: A Social History of U.S. Food and Culture

How America Eats: A Social History of U.S. Food and Culture, by food and social historian Jennifer Wallach, sheds a new and interesting light on American history by way of the dinner table. It is, at once, a study of America's diverse culinary history and a look at the country's unique and unprecedented journey to the present day. While undeniably a "melting pot" of different cultures and cuisines, America's food habits have been shaped as much by technological innovations and industrial progress as by the intermingling and mixture of ethnic cultures. By studying what Americans have been eating since the colonial era, we are further enlightened to the conflicting ways in which Americans have chosen to define themselves, their culture, their beliefs, and the changes those definitions have undergone over time. Understanding the American diet is the first step toward grasping the larger truths, the complex American narratives that have long been swept under the table, and the evolving answers to the question: What does it mean to be American?

Author: Jennifer Wallach
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 03/12/2014
Pages: 258
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.86lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 0.78d
ISBN13: 9781442232181
ISBN10: 1442232188
BISAC Categories:
- History | Social History
- Cooking | History
- History | United States | General

About the Author
Jennifer Jensen Wallach is associate professor of history at the University of North Texas. She is the author, most recently, of Richard Wright: From Black Boy to World Citizen.