Product Description

Here, for your delectation, is human history in its entirety - with every immoral side dish imaginable. From Stewart Lee Allen's 'menu' you can sample all seven deadly sins. Each freshly researched, well-seasoned with aromatic anecdotes and sizzling titbits - and brought to you piping hot from every culinary culture on the globe. Since God used the metaphor of Eve and the Forbidden Fruit to define human nature itself, our history has been peppered with food taboos that have shaped civilisations. As you pick from Allen's historical smorgasbord, you'll learn the important roles played by chocolate in the French revolution, how a spat between chefs caused a rift in the Catholic Church that lasted a thousand years and why Caesar fought food to save the world's mightiest empire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #687881 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 276 pages

Review
The alluring title of this follow-up to Allen's history of coffee entices the reader to sample his menu of forbidden foods and culinary taboos, all grouped together under the umbrella of the seven deadly sins. For every delectable morsel to tempt the tastebuds there are numerous others from another age or culture to make us wince with revulsion. The Romans had a penchant for spiced sow udders, rooster combs and whole dormice dipped in honey and poppy seeds, while President Mitterand's last meal before his death from cancer was of a traditional but outlawed French delicacy - the songbird known as the bunting, drowned in armagnac, roasted and eaten whole, the partaker having covered his head with an embroidered cloth. Alongside such bizarre and entertaining titbits there is wide-ranging comment on the anthropological, historical, political, social and religious aspects of food and eating. The author discusses the 'culinary segregation' of Native Americans and black slaves from their white masters and the divisiveness of the Hindu caste system and the Jewish dietary laws. He describes how food - be it potatoes in 19th-century Ireland or bread in 18th-century France - has shaped history, and also deals with more topical political issues such as the iniquitous promotion of infant formula milk in Third World countries and the threatened extinction of primates by a current fad for smoked monkey. This book sets out primarily to entertain with witty anecdotes, practical recipes - some more tempting than others - and a scattering of illustrations, and the author's treatment of this huge subject is inevitably, therefore, somewhat superficial. There is, nevertheless, a serious side to the work with a persuasive if familiar final argument linking social disintegration with changes in eating habits and an extensive bibliography for those wanting to read further. (Kirkus UK)

A stroll through the history of some food taboos that have caught the author's fancy, loosely organized around the seven deadly sins. With much enthusiasm and a generous spirit of inclusion, Allen (The Devil's Cup, 1999) has rooted around in the annals of food lore to turn up an overwhelming number of sketches, historical vignettes, and general information about foods that have been considered "sinful" in some way, by someone, somewhere. Allen's anecdotes run the gamut, from "the politics of the baguette" to an exploration of folks who like to eat clay to the author's personal experience with a bottle of 1898 Absinthe. Ostensibly organized around the seven deadly sins, the numerous two- or three-page vignettes are, in fact, most tenuously linked; even the dishes on the menus that introduce each chapter seem to get swallowed up somewhere in the heaps of facts about more or less obscure comestibles. But the author's got a mercifully light touch, a finely tuned ear for a story, and an enthusiastic pitch, giving a potentially dry discussion the essence of cocktail conversation-frothy, informative, and fast. One can hear partygoers chatting about the culture of dog-eating around the world, or how an ancient Moon Goddess struck down her worshippers for having bad breath. Not everyone can take an anecdote about a White Supremacist and turn it into a whimsical musing on the history of "bean baiting." In fact, Allen has done some respectable research (documented in a bibliography over 20 pages long). Unfortunately, without an organizing principle that can draw the reader through the pages, Allen's abundance of work and talent seems mostly squandered. Extremely broad, frustratingly shallow. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author
Currently living in Brooklyn, Stewart Lee Allen has also called California, Kathmandu, Sydney, San Cristobel, Calcutta and San Francisco home. He is the author of the award-winning fiction collection The Art of Rape as well as his acclaimed history of coffee, The Devil's Cup.

Customer Reviews

Delicious!
What a fantastic book!

In the Devil's Garden is divided into eight sections (one for each of the seven deadly sins plus one for luck!)Part travelogue, part gourmet treat, part history book, this book ticks so many boxes you won't be disappointed.

The book is incredibly well researched and is written in a highly entertaining, often humourous way. There were parts where I was almost crying with laughter....the part where Allen was rubbed down with a guinea pig was particualrly amusing (if you want to know why, you'll have to read the book!) I particualrly liked the idea of Louis XIV's courtiers having a 'hissy fit' when chocolate was introduced to France. I can picture it really clearly!

A great book that you can read in one sitting, or dip in and out of. Good present for foodies. Recommended.

A good accompaniment to the coffee book
A fairly enjoyable book with an entertaining style .It is a humorous look at the history of food fads. Those looking for a serious tome might find this one a little light for their digestion. For those looking for historical quirks, good tales and a good laugh and who are not too pedantic, this makes a good snack of a read.

A good accompaniment to the coffee book

sometimes tasty - often moorish!
Well, this was a little surprise! I picked this up with some trepidation; not knowing if i was to read a tedious speel about religion and grub and whatnot.

My worries were unfounded. This was a veritable smorgasboard of the most unusual facts and heresy's regarding food i have ever heard. Roll on obscure food questions on high prize quiz shows!

In all seriousness i read this as i have a vested interest in food, i trained and worked as a chef for a few years, but this is a cracking book that would appeal to anyone fond of trivia or the pedant on a mission.

I must also make quick mention of the writing style; descriptive, to the point & very easy - he wants us to enjoy the book, not feel as though we are at a lecture & has the talent to make this happen. The book is more easily readable and sun-lounger suitable than many high street fiction novels.

For those in search of something new, this is well recomended, as is the same authors book on coffee; the devils cup.

If this is hell's kitchen - its good eatin'!!