Product Description

Following the potato from its early cultivation in 16th-century South America to its 20th-century marriage to battered fish, this social history covers developments in agriculture, class, diet, politics, economics, and technology. For two centuries after the potato's arrival in Europe it was regarded as poison fit only for pigs. Yet, the author suggests, the potato's impact on world history became as striking as that of the railway or the car. The text draws on personal diaries, chronicles, newspaper editorials and government records to bring this story to life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #814054 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the potato was berated, feared and loathed. It was blamed for everything from population explosions to population implosions, not to mention social upheaval and financial despair. Yet now, with the luxury of hindsight, Larry Zuckerman regards the potato as a saving grace for Western civilisation, a crop that protected populations from starvation, encouraged self-sufficiency, and improved the lives of ordinary people. The potato's roller-coaster journey from dreary boiled peasant food into the most widely consumed vegetable on the planet is chronicled in this refreshing history lesson. The Potato goes way beyond the usual scope of spud history, which commonly focuses on the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s. Although this disaster is a key event in the book, the potato's broader influence in the Western world was far more complex--changing the shape of agrarian societies, triggering world emigration and even influencing social-welfare reforms. Snippets from journals, newspaper editorials and government documents make this a convincing and fascinating glimpse of four centuries' worth of a vegetable to which we normally wouldn't give a second thought. --Naomi Gesinger

From the Publisher
NEWSDAY July 26, 1998 A modest proposal: Eat More Spuds!
"Thorough and lively....There is nothing--pardon the pun--stuffy about "The Potato": Zuckerman is an excellent storyteller, both conscientious and colloquial. The book stimulates and illuminates...Zuckerman's descriptions of traditional potato dishes are mouthwatering. He captures the nightmare of black '47 with subdued grace, and his chapter on women on the American frontier is simply wonderful, as is the entire premise of his having rooted through four centuries of history to make his point: "However ugly and prosaic the potato may be"-and you know he feels just the opposite-"hunger is far worse." --By Emily Gordon

Customer Reviews

You Say Po-tay-to, And I Say Po-tah-to.............
Don't let the corny (ouch!) title put you off: this is a serious look at the historical place of the potato in England, Ireland, France, and the United States. And if you are concerned that 271 pages on the "humble spud" might put you into a stupor, you might breathe easier when you know that Mr. Zuckerman uses the potato as a starting point to examine lots of other things: class distinctions; agricultural landlords and tenant farmers; urbanization; women and domestic drudgery; the role of bread (ouch again!) vs. the role of the potato, etc. Mr. Zuckerman even finds the time, near the end of the book, to incorporate some philosophical musings on the positive and negative aspects of "fast-food" and its relationship to our "hurry-up society." To me, one of the best things about the book was the multi-cultural approach: it was interesting to see how much more quickly the potato caught-on in the United States than it did in France, England, and Ireland (where the centuries-old custom of strict reliance on bread had to be overcome). Another interesting thing to read about was the amazement of foreign visitors concerning the variety of the American diet. We tend to forget that in Europe, in the period this book primarily deals with (1700-1900), the average person lived on bread, porridge, and soup. (One of the many interesting facts presented by Mr. Zuckerman is that up until almost 1900 most French peasants had a morning bowl of soup rather than a cup of coffee.) You were indeed fortunate if you had meat, milk, butter, eggs, coffee, etc. Even if a peasant farmer owned a cow, pig, or chicken, quite often the food products the animals supplied had to be sold, to provide some much-needed cash. The book provides a very nice combination of scholarly data (economic and sociological information) and anecdotal material. To be honest, the book was a "heavier" read than I anticipated, but the interesting "factoids" helped to lighten and enliven things . Some examples: soup was so prevalent in 19th century France that in one district it is documented that some people had wooden tables with rounded depressions carved into them. As Mr. Zuckerman writes, this "removed the need for plates and [also] any doubt about the menu."; soup was also used as a "bread-softener." Due to poor quality flour and inefficient ovens, the crust of bread was often as hard as a rock. Some people couldn't cut the bread with a knife- they had to use a saw; finally, in 19th century London a common sight was the "baked 'tato man," who sold his product from a cart on the sidewalk- similar to today's hot dog, pretzel, and chestnut vendors. But the interesting thing about the "baked 'tato man" was that, in the cold weather, he would suggest to the gentleman-half of a passing couple that he buy a baked potato to keep his sweetheart warm. The author writes, "This advice was often taken, and the potato placed inside her muff." Food for warmth, and this fine book provides much food for thought, as well.

Highly informative and entertaining
This book is a gem. The author has researched extremely well, and delivers his information in entertaining ways. The book gives you interesting bits of information about past history, and (as the focus of the book) how the potato fit in to everything. Who would have thought that this weird little thing played such an important historical role? Highly recommended.

clever, poignant and educational
Never would I have guessed, before discovering Larry Zuckerman's book, that I could be so moved to laugh and learn while reading about a vegetable. His personal, palatable presentation of social history enlightened me with a truer understanding of my Irish roots(!), as much as it entertained.