Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #664702 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1958 pages

The New Yorker
"It's hard not to feel a giggly kind of pleasure at the full extent of knowledge on display in the Cambridge World History of Food."

Publishers Weekly
"[A] tour de force. . . . With information that is up-to-date, a format that is easy to use and a fresh, engaging approach to their subject, Kiple and Ornelas have prepared a magnificent resource."

Matthew Fort, The Guardian
"Top of the league there is enough in the two volumes to keep the curious happy for Christmases to come."

Customer Reviews

A wonderful addition to your library
I hesitated before buying this book - because of the price - but it's fabulous. Full of wonderful information about food and nutrition and a must for anyone interested in food or studying food related subjects. A definitive work.

The Food Bible?
Like The Bible, this book comes in two massive volumes printed on tissue-thin paper. Hardly light reading, but because the space devoted to each topic is of necessity, small, it's possible to dip in and out with ease. The 'World History' is largely about raw materials rather than food ingredients or processing, so those searching for information on cheese, or kefir or koumiss rather than milk, for instance, will be very disappointed. The illustrations (all black-and white) vary in quality and little thought seems to have been given to their selection. It would be useful to see what those exotic fruit and veg look like, for instance. Instead, we're treated to a barely-visible photo of a melon costing $50, and numerous pictures of dogs - including two mummified ones! Despite the inclusion of chapters on biotechnology, much of the material on recent developments (e.g. BSE, E.coli O157) is already out-of-date. However, if you're looking for a comprehensive treatment in one place there's probably nothing better.