Books and Print

In "Three Famines," Thomas Keneally probes politics of starvation, earlier thought to be "act of God," but now understood as failure to distribute food and lack of accountability

By Johann Hari

The New York Times 2011-09-16

In "Willpower," authors show self-control resembles a muscle; it can tire and can be toned - and since its brain circuitry runs on glucose, a sugary pick-me-up restores it

By Steven Pinker

The New York Times 2011-09-04

Zagats sell to Google for $100 to $200 million

BY Michael J. De La Merced, Ron Lieber and Claire Cain Miller

The New York Times 2011-09-08

Opinion: True cost of the 1 billion pounds of tomatoes Florida ships is told in detail and with insight and compassion by Barry Estabrook in his new book, "Tomatoland"

By Mark Bittman

The New York Times 2011-06-14

Sustainability, linked by some to higher costs, government regulation, means reducing waste, which saves money, author writes in book detailing the greening of Wal-Mart

By Bryan Burrough

The New York Times 2011-05-14

Book review: In "This Life is In Your Hands," daughter of back-to-the-land pioneer Eliot Coleman - now a celebrated organic farmer - probes destruction of family in paradise

By Janet Maslin

The New York Times 2011-04-06

Book review: "Sustainism is the New Modernism: A Cultural Manifesto for the Sustainist Era," full of platitudes and colorful symbols, unlikely to spark innovative thinking

By Justin McGuirk

The Guardian (UK) 2011-02-03

Book Review: "Moby-Duck" succeeds as harebrained adventure, cautionary environmental tale, as deconstruction of consumer demand, and meditation on wilderness, imagination

By Elizabeth Royte

The New York Times 2011-03-04

Books: In "Blood, Bones & Butter," Gabrielle Hamilton captures essence of contemporary cool, the gnarly, punk-rock aesthetic, the in-your-face food style, the vision of a generation

By Josh Ozersky

Time magazine 2011-02-16

Nathan Myhrvold's "Modernist Cuisine" is 2,400-page investigation into math, science, physics of cooking, from making juicy and crisp beer-can chicken to coating foie-gras in cherry gel

By Katy McLaughlin

The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2011-02-12

Books: In the heartbreaking "Hot," Mark Hertsgaard contributes ground-level reporting on climate adaptation efforts around world, lists reasons to act rather than despair

By Wen Stephenson

The New York Times 2011-02-04

Mark Bittman, cookbook author, moves to opinion pages to advocate for eaters' rights and to The (NY) Times Magazine for recipe column as "The Minimalist" exits food section

By Mark Bittman

The New York Times 2011-01-26

After shrugging off burden of writing definitive history of African-American food, Jessica B. Harris, in "High on the Hog," offers lively, if wayward story of how slaves altered the way Americans ate

By William Grimes

The New York Times 2011-01-07

Author of "The China Study" found that 20 years of research changed his nutrition teaching from nutrient and animal-product based to one advocating whole, plant-based foods

By Tara Parker-Pope

The New York Times 2011-01-07

Newspaper food editor uses controversial outing of restaurant critic to explain the inner workings of reviews, reasons for reviewer anonymity and basis of stars for ratings

By Russ Parsons

Los Angeles Times 2010-12-30

Year's best cookbooks are work of real-life cooks - every recipe is human-sized, and every recipe actually works

By T. Susan Chang

National Public Radio/Weekend Edition 2010-11-21

Food is about democracy and whether we have role in controlling industrial agriculture or whether we're victims of it, writes Mark Winne in book chronicling food rebels' tales

By Staci Matlock

The New Mexican 2010-10-26

Former Microsoft exec nears publication of "Modernist Cuisine," which he describes as "an encyclopedic treatment of modern cooking" - "The Joy of Cooking" for Ferran Adrià set

By Betty Hallock

Los Angeles Times 2010-09-23

In "Empires of Food," authors trace old civilizations that failed because they didn't account for soil erosion, overpopulation, weather changes, relying on technology, trade instead

By Riddhi Shah

Salon 2010-08-26

Opinion: With "Eat, Pray, Love," character learns that spirituality, fulfillment, happiness can sometimes be found in simple plate of food; that is an absolute for me and the way I love

By Regina Charboneau

The Atlantic 2010-08-27

Review: In "The Coming Famine," terrifying facts make book gripping, but author's solutions inspire: mandate food and waste composting, fund research, educate on costs of food

By Mark Bittman

The New York Times 2010-08-25

Review: "Four Fish" is marvelous exploration of contradiction that fishermen feel about saving or killing fish; a necessary book for anyone truly interested in what, how, why

By Sam Sifton

The New York Times 2010-08-01

Anthony Bourdain, famous because he is vivid and real and mercilessly honest, writes followup to "Kitchen Confidential"

By Josh Ozersky

Time magazine 2010-06-08

Review: In "Farmer Jane," a good introduction to sustainable agriculture, farmers and food

By Jane Black

The Washington Post 2010-05-27

Air, water, soil and health problems linked to industrial farms where cows, pigs, chickens confined in close quarters, journalist writes in "Animal Factory"

By Claire Suddath

Time magazine 2010-04-23

Review: "The Conscious Kitchen," by Alexandra Zissu, is current, thoroughly-researched, user-friendly reference for buying and cooking food

By Lisa Frack

Environmental Working Group 2010-04-07

In domestic arts of chicken raising, peach canning and kale growing, women seek larger purpose, says author of "Radical Homemakers"

By Peggy Orenstein

The New York Times 2010-03-14

Blog: "Free for All" tells us how, if we could put ourselves in the little shoes of people smaller than us, we would do everything we could to make school meals better

By Mark Winne

Civil Eats 2010-02-12

In "Nothing to Envy," a story of ordinary North Koreans - vagabond children stealing fruit and hunting frogs, family patriarchs wasting away as food ran out

By John Delury

Slate 2010-02-10

Review: Michael Pollan's 64 "Food Rules" are intelligent, sensible, simple - and will benefit all of us and planet

By Jane Brody

The New York Times 2010-02-02

In version of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" for adolescents, simplified narrative sharpens impact of food choices

By John McKenna

The Irish Times 2010-02-02

Emphasis on fresh, whole ingredients, embrace of delicious items helps new cookbook, "Cook This, Not That!" stand out from pack

By Jennifer LaRue Huget

The Washington Post 2010-01-25

Books: In "Slow Death by Rubber Duck," authors probe everyday pollution in tuna, nonstick coatings, canned food linings

By Lisa Bonos

The Washington Post 2010-01-10

To eat, drink less, use skinny glasses, add mirror to kitchen, keep food diary, says author of "59 Seconds: Think a Little. Change a Lot"

To eat, drink less, use skinny glasses, add mirror to kitchen, keep food diary, says author of

By Heidi Blake

The Telegraph (UK) 2009-07-15

Books: Simultaneously promoting obesity and hunger in school lunches

Books: Simultaneously promoting obesity and hunger in school lunches

By Michael O’Donnell

Washington Monthly 2010-01-07

Books: 'Food Rules' backed by science, framed by culture

By Michael Pollan

The Huffington Post 2010-01-04

Civilized feasting with the 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

Civilized feasting with the 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

Quentin Blake

By V.V. Ganeshananthan

The Atlantic 2009-12-14

Review: Two food memoirs

Review: Two food memoirs

Barnes & Noble

Two holiday-issue books diverge on food and marriage. 'Cleaving,' by author who attached herself to Julia Child's apron strings, promises marriage, meat and obsession, but object of obsession is not standing rib roast, but a man she calls D, who trusses the dark, damaged anti-heroine and covers her in bruises before sending her home to cook for her husband. She seeks distraction in butchering, ahead of current craze for men with cleavers, and learns how to take things apart in hope of putting her life back together. Or not. In 'Gastronomy of Marriage,' author might quote great food writers, but her fare is more Epicurious.com than French Laundry. But this book is rated R for Redbook.

By Christine Muhlke

The New York Times 2009-12-03

Books: Diverging approaches to climate change

Books: Diverging approaches to climate change

Rodale

By the end of Al Gore's well-sourced book, 'Our Choice,' it may be clear that we have tools needed to dramatically cut carbon emissions, but book also shows that deploying them would mean changing the way we eat, shop, manufacture, and get around, and, ultimately, how we see ourselves. Not so in terrifyingly cavalier 'SuperFreakonomics,' where authors argue that climate change anxiety is annoying, especially when it's so easy to re-engineer the planet. 'It's not that we don't know how to stop polluting the atmosphere. We don't want to stop, or aren't willing to pay the price,' they write. Here, they have a point.

By Elizabeth Kolbert

The New Yorker 2009-11-16

Analysis: Doing too much may have doomed Gourmet

Analysis: Doing too much may have doomed Gourmet

Gourmet magazine, closest thing the food world had to a Life or Saturday Evening Post, may have been done in by trying to do too much, rather than too little. In publishing world, it's now easier, more profitable to divide readership into small groups. Such a strategy may be good business, says expert, but notion of food as cultural artifact gets lost. And it was challenge for magazine that not only had incredible photography and recipes and editing, but had really, really fine writing. And: While promoting new book, Ruth Reichl considers her next step (click 'See also').

By Russ Parsons

Los Angeles Times 2009-11-04

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'Eating Animals' asks renunciation of irreplaceable pleasures

'Eating Animals' asks renunciation of irreplaceable pleasures

Little, Brown

What we know about eating animals is that we don't want to know, writes novelist Jonathan Safran Foer in new nonfiction book, 'Eating Animals.' But cost imposed on fifteen or so million non-human species goes way beyond either meat or eggs; death and destruction are embedded in bananas, blue jeans, soy lattes, computer screens. We are, writer suggests, defined by what we do and what we are willing to do without. And: Juxtapostion of production and consumption is what sticks (click 'See also') in this bold, honest, thoughtful book: Factory farms, manure lagoons, genetically deformed animals, antibiotic-laden feed, a diseased environment vs. a family gathering, 'table fellowship,' holidays, warmth, son, grandma, love.

By Elizabeth Kolbert

The New Yorker 2009-11-09

School halts printing of student paper over lunch vendor report

California charter school halts printing of student paper that reports lunch vendor is Christian company whose mission is to 'serve God.' Company's religious stance is on its website (click 'See also'); principal says company's affiliation was part of reason for delay, but also, a school official had been misquoted.

By Scott Martindale

The Orange County Register 2009-09-11

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Getting to the roots of 'food democracy'

Getting to the roots of 'food democracy'

September issue of magazine examines meaning behind 'food democracy.' Eating local is part of it, but more basically, it requires transformation of food industry, so workers, consumers can control what they produce and eat - and food is safe and nutritious. It also suggests fair access to crop land, fair return for farmers, laborers. It implies economic rules that encourage safeguarding soil, water, wildlife. Alice Waters (click 'See also'), other leading figures of food movement reflect on how food democracy can be achieved.

The Nation. 2009-09-01

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An appetizing selection of summer reading

An appetizing selection of summer reading

Simon & Schuster

Kitchen literature abounds for summer: books on food history, essays on sustainability, food-centric fiction (call it foodtion), and sentimental food memoirs, or foodoirs. In some, author embarks on an emotional journey, returning to ancestor's roots and perhaps root vegetables. In others, protagonist learns the hard way that surest path to happiness is through his/her lover's taste buds.

By Dianna Marder

The Philadelphia Inquirer 2009-07-23

Three books offer dark view of obesity epidemic

Three books offer dark view of obesity epidemic

In three books, authors examine possible causes of obesity epidemic. We evolved on the treacherous savannahs but now live in Candyland ('The Evolution of Obesity,' by Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin); putting on pounds made financial sense because costs of fats, oils and sodas dropped ('The Fattening of America,' by Eric Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman); and 'eatertainment' items containing fat, sugar, salt have been reëngineered to 'unlock the code of craveability' and 'cram as much hedonics as you can in one dish' ('The End of Overeating,' David A. Kessler). But problem goes beyond Value Meals, oceans of high-fructose corn syrup. Collecting maximum number of calories with least amount of effort is dream of every creature, even those too primitive to dream.

By Elizabeth Kolbert

The New Yorker 2009-07-20

Review: A can-do book on reducing food waste

Review: A can-do book on reducing food waste

Rigorously researched, uplifting book on food waste offers list of difficult but possible improvements from farmers through food producers, supermarkets and restaurants to consumers and governments. Solutions could aid those facing famine, help Britain meet international targets on climate change. And: Changing ways food is produced, handled and disposed of can feed world's rising population, help environment, says UN study (click 'See also').

By Linda Christmas

The Telegraph (Great Britain) 2009-07-16

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From fried Spam to panini, a survey of solo cooks

From fried Spam to panini, a survey of solo cooks

Cookbook writer Deborah Madison and her artist husband, Patrick McFarlin, take on the habits of the solo cook - from celebration to whining and all the details in between - in new book that stemmed from their interviews of friends and neighbors. The sum? Stories illustrate the complicated relationship between a person and food, as well as casting the kitchen as 'place of relaxation and adventure.'

By Mary MacVean

Los Angeles Times 2009-07-08

Celebrating regional classics across the country

Celebrating regional classics across the country

Intrepid eaters Jane and Michael Stern chew across U.S., gathering list of 'must eat' spots ahead of 'nutrition police,' whom they fear will make whoopee pies, fried chicken illegal. Along the way, they chronicle and sustain regional food traditions. And: Anthology of essays, notes from unfinished 1930s Federal Writers' Project shows that many regional classics were disregarded (click 'See also').

By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg

The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2009-06-16

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Big Read: Food speaks volumes in Harper Lee's classic novel

Big Read: Food speaks volumes in Harper Lee's classic novel

As readers across the country dig into "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the Big Read, they learn that foods - from cracklin' bread to Lane cake - aren't just set-dressing, but powerful symbols of race, class, gender. Food marks station in life, says professor. 'We understand cakes as the top of the hierarchy. Cakes have such power and magic - you have to get it right.' And: Big Read organizer avoids eating Harper Lee's words after everyone on island reads 'Mockingbird' (click 'See also').

By Kathleen Purvis

The Charlotte Observer (NC) 2009-04-29

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Review: Leading by negative example

Review: Leading by negative example

Barnes & Noble

In brief meditation, Ruth Reichl looks backward, inward to understand, explain her mother. In revelations, we see how career of this commanding, daunting figure can be understood as reaction to her mother's attitude toward food, work. Book is open-hearted, gracious, endearing, but a harsh verdict against her mother, herself. And: Gourmet magazine nominated for eight James Beard Foundation awards (click 'See also').

By Jonathan Kirsch

Los Angeles Times 2009-04-24

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Where there was fire, early humans added cooking pot

Where there was fire, early humans added cooking pot

In new book, primatologist and anthropologist discusses how fire tamed early humans, and how cooking provided our bodies with more energy than we'd previously obtained as foraging animals eating raw food. And: Cooked food may have facilitated brain development (click 'See also').

By Claudia Dreifus

The New York Times 2009-04-20

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Japanese comics cook - and bake

Japanese comics cook - and bake

Wikipedia

Oishinbo Vol. 102

Sub-genre of Japanese comics, or manga, revolve around cooking, culture. Among offerings in English: 'Best of' long-running series called Oishinbo (or, loosely, 'the gourmet') about adventures of food expert and journalist; manga featuring a teen with superhuman baking abilities; cookbooks written in graphic novel format.

By Lynne Char Bennett

The San Francisco Chronicle 2009-03-22

Books: In naan and tandoori chicken, bittersweet taste of home

Books: In naan and tandoori chicken, bittersweet taste of home

In short stories, Jhumpa Lahiri delves into toll on human spirit of Indian immigrants as they try to warm to Western culture, which ignores them. Food is both comfort and pain, reminding them of home and of how far they are from it. Ingredients must be substituted with domestic products, cooking methods altered for Western appliances, dishes explained to baffled neighbors.

By Mary-Liz Shaw

Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI) 2009-03-07

Fighting environment, economic woes in gardens, kitchens

Fighting environment, economic woes in gardens, kitchens

Seeking solution to problems of climate change, fossil fuels depletion, food safety lapses, economic crisis, health and national security, writers issue call to arms in 'A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil.' In their vision (click 'See also'), grassroots-led agricultural revolution would result in produce 100 million people becoming farmers and millions more becoming home cooks.

By Morgan Josey Glover

News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.) 2009-03-09

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Opinion: Food writing, beyond odes to crusty bread

Past recipes and celebrity chefs, the meat of food remains. Food news is interdisciplinary beat, one that's often on newspapers' front pages and on lists of most-read and most-emailed. It's embedded in safety, security, regulations and habits, economics, environment, agriculture and politics. Global crisis shows need for coverage of complicated, interconnected food reality.

By Georgina Gustin

Columbia Journalism Review 2009-01-01

Three books take on food industry

Three books take on food industry

Penguin Books

From 'The World is Fat,' by Barry Popkin

In three new books, common culprit in obesity crisis is food industry - pushing processed foods that destroy environment and our bodies, putting profits before health. But solutions differ. Barry Popkin, in 'The World is Fat,' advocates multi-pronged attack including taxation, lifestyle choices and gastric bypass surgery. Mark Bittman, in 'Food Matters,' tells us to eat less meat, less junk food and switch to 'sane eating.' In 'Stuffed,' Hank Cardello says food companies should sneak nutrients into bestselling products.

By Fuchsia Dunlop

The Washington Post 2009-01-22

Book review: Tending our bodies, wallets and the planet, recipe by recipe

Book review: Tending our bodies, wallets and the planet, recipe by recipe

In practical, revolutionary new book, Mark Bittman offers simple prescription for weight loss, environmentalism and penny-pinching: Eat less meat, less junk food and more plants. Unlike Michael Pollan, he offers can-do recipes. The hitch: So many Americans lack life skill of basic cooking - a repertoire of quick and uncomplicated recipes, understanding of improvisation, the ability to stock a pantry, planning menus to limit food shopping trips.

By Laura Miller

Salon.com 2009-01-05

Newspaper reporting lags on food system-climate change links

Media coverage of food system effects on climate change is improving slowly, study reports. Changes needed on individual, business, government levels, but actions unlikely without public support that begins with knowledge as 'floor.' Obstacles: Experts' lag on highlighting problems; lack of reportable data; framing food, nutrition as 'lifestyle' story; lag in advocacy interest; under-the-radar industry approach.

By Karla Cook

The Food Times 2008-07-07

Battling plate alienation in the British countryside

Battling plate alienation in the British countryside

Barnes & Noble

Some of Britain's top chefs return to land. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, of River Cottage Canteen, grows his own food -- saddleback pigs, old breeds of chicken -- and revives techniques for curing, preserving food. Ideally, diner is grower, or grower's neighbor. Food-blindness, he says, is part of postindustrial alienation. And: Newest installment of River Cottage cookbooks (click 'See also').

By Henry Shukman

The New York Times 2008-11-30

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Yes, we can - cook at home, have fun and eat well

Yes, we can - cook at home, have fun and eat well

The point of this year's best cookbooks is to get into the kitchen, tie on that apron and cook. Or, with apologies to two campaigns that put "kitchen-table" issues front and center this year: Dinner first! Can we cook it? Yes, we can!

By T. Susan Chang

National Public Radio/Weekend Edition 2008-11-23

Investor creates new funding model that values air, water, soil

Investor creates new funding model that values air, water, soil

Chelsea Green

Personal connection to food must be added to calculus of investing, since air, water, soil are new currencies, says investor. Approach, he says in new book, could change current societal systems that accelerate climate change or mortgage-related debt crisis and also could link back to Main Street from Wall Street.

By Carleen Hawn

Ode magazine 2008-11-01

Atlas maps underground reservoirs, many straddling borders

Atlas maps underground reservoirs, many straddling borders

UNESCO

A portion of the UNESCO map, 'Groundwater Resources of the World.'

New map (click 'See also') reveals underground aquifers that hold 100 times the volume of fresh water that flows down rivers and streams around the world at any time. Many water sources stretch beneath borders. Map illuminates declining water tables as agricultural interests pump water out, as well as need for international water-sharing accords.

By Catherine Brahic

New Scientist 2008-10-24

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Good home cooking in bad economy begins with standout cookbooks

Good home cooking in bad economy begins with standout cookbooks

Barnes & Noble

For home cooks, there are two standout books this season: 'A16: Food + Wine,' a road map to food, wine at San Francisco's A16 (named for southern Italian road); and 'Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life,' that celebrates garden of formerly Naked Chef. And: Bad economy increases cookbook sales, reduces dinners out (click 'See also').

By Amy Scattergood

Los Angeles Times 2008-09-17

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Playing with food

Kitchen scientists Lily Binns, Patrick Buckley (an MIT grad) and friends (click 'See also') co-opt kitchen for home lab, then release new book, 'The Hungry Scientist Handbook.' Projects include Edible Undies, Wonton Origami, Pomegranate Wine, heat-sensitive coasters. Caution: Resin, like bacon grease, will clog drain.

By Jennifer Hillner

Wired magazine 2008-09-22

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Critic beaten in restaurant parking lot

New York state restaurant critic, companion beaten in parking lot of restaurant. Critic had announced plans on his blog to attend new restaurant's preview dinner. Whether the attack was premeditated or random is under investigation, police said. No arrests have been made.

By Jimmy Vielkind

Times Union (NY) 2008-10-19

Food journalists pick 48 winners among them

Food journalists pick 48 winners among them

Association of Food Journalists

The San Francisco Chronicle was among the food sections cited for excellence.

The Hartford Courant, The Kansas City Star, and the Los Angeles Times named best food sections by trade group (click 'See also'). Rebekah Denn, Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Charles Passy, The Palm Beach Post; and Russ Parsons, the Los Angeles Times, and others, honored for feature writing. Andrew Schneider, Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Brandon Bailey, San Jose Mercury News; and Mark Chediak and Vicki McClure, Orlando Sentinel honored for food news reporting.

By Jim Romenesko

Poynter Online 2008-10-20

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Tales from kitchens, dishes, eaters they have known

Tales from kitchens, dishes, eaters they have known

Amazon

Culinary memoirs, an increasingly popular genre of autobiography, are filled with personal truths, narrative, menus, recipes and celebrated names sprinkled along the path of food history. And: Marcella Hazan's memoir, reviewed (click 'See also').

By Kathie Smith

The Blade (Toledo, OH) 2008-10-14

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Home cooking with pioneering molecular gastronomist

Home cooking with pioneering molecular gastronomist

Phaidon

After routinely creating culinary language of molecular gastronomy at El Bulli, Ferrán Adrià agrees to shop in Chinatown, then prepare a simple meal to publicize his book: fish with passionfruit and saffron, scrambled eggs with burrata cheese. But he was available only on Yom Kippur, day of fasting, atonement and contemplation for Jews. What's a writer to do?

By Allen Salkin

The New York Times 2008-10-12

Take a banana pudding and call me in the morning

Take a banana pudding and call me in the morning

ChefMD.com

Physician, fighting losing battle with extra 35 pounds and stymied on questions his patients asked about diet, goes to cooking school, eats better, loses weight. His new book, he says, blends the art of cooking quick, easy restaurant-quality food with the science of medicine to prevent, and, in some cases, help treat disease.

By Liane Hansen

National Public Radio/Weekend Edition 2008-09-14

A feast of Sendak

A feast of Sendak

HarperCollins

In year-long exhibition, Philadelphia museum celebrates Maurice Sendak's contribution to children's literature, including his foodscapes and how he uses food to express love, power, and desire. And: The author has written more than 100 books (click 'See also').

The Rosenbach Museum and Library 2008-05-06

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And now, a magazine about TV cooking shows

Food Network Magazine, featuring the network's celebrity chefs and recipes, to debut in October. The test publication is a joint effort of the television network and Hearst Magazines. 'We saw an opening in the epicurean field for a unique product,' says Hearst publishing director. Magazines formed from partnerships have had uneven success.

By Lucia Moses

Mediaweek 2008-09-08

From writer's garret to farm to book

From writer's garret to farm to book

Broadway Books

Twelve years ago, would-be writer finds that his tomato seedlings have outgrown his fourth-floor Brooklyn walkup so he returns to Pennsylvania roots to grow Black Krims, Cherokee Purples and Green Zebras, and chefs seek them out. His book tells the tale. And: Tim Stark figures he must be the only Princeton grad who sells tomatoes (click 'See also').

By Melissa Block

National Public Radio/All Things Considered 2008-08-08

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Review: 'Eat Your Heart Out'

Review: 'Eat Your Heart Out'

Amazon

In her latest book, journalist Felicity Lawrence takes an engaging, restless look at Cargill, Unilever and others who decide what we eat and how they persuade us to buy in the name of choice, health and, increasingly, the environment. If there is a flaw in the book, it's not getting close enough to genius of capitalism - how it makes us want what it has to sell.

By Fred Pearce

The Guardian (UK) 2008-07-05

On backs of envelopes, a cast of characters emerges

On backs of envelopes, a cast of characters emerges

alacartthebook.com

Hillary Carlip as one of her characters drawn from discarded grocery lists.

Performance artist finds discarded grocery lists from all over the world - and in them, inspiration for stage, book, possibly TV. The lists, she believes, are like little memoirs. Everything - items, handwriting, Prozac stationery - reveals something, and so a goth boy, a therapist, an online date - are born.

By Alex Cohen

National Public Radio/Day to Day 2008-07-29

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Book review: Schenone's latest is study of all that nourishes

Book review: Schenone's latest is study of all that nourishes

Barnes & Noble

'The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken' is feast for mind, heart, palate, says reviewer. Acclaimed author's book is examination of life's big themes, exhaustive study of ravioli. Conclusions are unsentimental and unexpected. And: Search for great-grandmother's recipe takes author to Italy, builds bridges (click 'See also').

By Peg Tyre

Newsweek 2007-11-23

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Book review: A journey through China, eating and cooking

Book review: A journey through China, eating and cooking

WW Norton

Fuchsia Dunlop's new book, 'Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper,' is robustly wrought memoir full of deft, elegant and accurate descriptions, destined to become a classic of travel writing and a fine guide to China for Olympics attendees. And: Metric recipes aside, book shows that food is potent shaper of cultural identity (click 'See also').

By Paul Levy

The Observer (UK) 2008-02-24

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Food is infrastructure of cities, and life, author says

Food is infrastructure of cities, and life, author says

Amazon

In 'Hungry City,' architect Carolyn Steel works to help people think more about the links between their food and how they live, how food shaped the development of cities and urban living and how cities must change. And: Steel's book is exuberant, provocative and irritating, says reviewer (click 'See also').

By Pamela Buxton

Building Design 2008-07-04

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Hungering for freedom, foods of the time

Hungering for freedom, foods of the time

www.jump.co.za

Through food, recipes and personal stories of the players, Pretoria-based chef and anthropologist Anna Trapido explores life of Nelson Mandela in 'gastro-political biography.' Food - making it, smelling it, eating it - helps people remember the broader political context, she says.

By Donna Bryson

The Associated Press; Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2008-07-05

Sustainable seafood and shaping the seas

Sustainable seafood and shaping the seas

Barnes & Noble

Overhauling seafood industry begins with asking questions and expecting more from market fishmongers and restaurant chefs, says author of new fish book. More solutions: Remove subsidies for fuel and for ships; stop high-seas trawling; create green, no-fish reserves. Meanwhile, canned sardines, mackerel, herring and fresh mussels are ethical dinner choices; skip imported farmed seafood, shrimp and domestic farmed salmon.

By Nicole Pasulka

Salon.com 2008-04-29

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A soup of wrecks

A soup of wrecks

Barnes & Noble

In his travelogue of a vanished place, John Gimlette, in 'Panther Soup,' writes redeemingly of appetites for war and peace, for food, sex and human comfort. His chapters, named for foods, fanciful and real, retrace the odyssey of American soldiers in 1944 with an American veteran of the campaign.

The New Yorker 2008-04-21

Opinion: Getting real on the food pages

Despite food crisis, hedonism dominates food media. We assume readers want window to epicurean life, and we linger over fast rewards, not strategic planning. But food revolutionaries and their followers believe that industrially produced cheap food is not cheap. The time is right for mainstream voices to marry pleasures of the table with reality, to recommend less packaged food and less meat.

By Sara Dickerman

Slate 2008-04-16

Prize-winning books

Prize-winning books

Barnes & Noble

Paul Johnson's book on sustainable fish choices took honors at a culinary professionals' conference.

Cookbooks on fish, pastry, breads and Japanese cuisine among winners at culinary industry convention. For list of food journalism awards, click 'See also.' The awards were created by the International Association of Culinary Professionals, in part, to expand awareness of culinary literature.

International Association of Culinary Professionals 2008-04-18

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Looking at lunch

Looking at lunch

To change school lunches, reformers must build coalition that links child nutrition to agriculture, food policy, and social welfare, says Susan Levine, author on new book that explores National School Lunch Program. The endurance of this social welfare program, she says, hints at central role of food policy in shaping American health, welfare and equality.

Newswise 2008-04-08

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Appetite for irony

Appetite for irony

In 'A Short History of the American Stomach,' Frederick Kaufman irreverently probes our obsession via eating contests, a lab that is genetically engineering Chesapeake Bay oysters, an underground raw milk coven, and rabbis who inspect grocery items for kosher-worthiness. And he wonders: What about those diet gurus who promote the live-forever diet and die young?

By Peter Smith

The Christian Science Monitor 2008-03-11

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Harvesting the rain

Harvesting the rain

bn.com

In 'Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond,' author Brad Lancaster advocates small-scale strategies for capturing abundance of rainwater in the form of a peach, a pomegranate, an apple, wildlife habitat and beauty, and creating oases where water runoff was once a problem. First investment: a shovel.

By Renee Montagne

National Public Radio 2008-01-09

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Cheap feasts

Cheap feasts

Barnes & Noble

Embracing 99-cent philosophy requires innovation, acceptance of unknown brands and the ability to ignore misshapen or discolored boxes. The payoff? High-style meals and low, low grocery bills, says cookbook author, who adapted many recipes from culinary classics including 'Joy of Cooking' and the 'Moosewood Cookbook.'

By Alex Cohen

National Public Radio 2008-03-21

A porcine tribute

A porcine tribute

Amazon

In 'A Late Dinner: Discovering the Food of Spain,' author Paul Richardson writes of living on matanza time, when routines and rhythms of normal life cease during traditional pig slaughter. Making chorizo, flavored with mashed garlic and Pimenton de la Vera, the matanceras were 'up to the elbows in meat, their arms stained an unfeasible shade of radioactive orange.'

By Paul Richardson

The Times (UK) 2007-08-12

A cuisine's adaptive tradition

A cuisine's adaptive tradition

Amazon

In "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles," Jennifer 8. Lee examines enduring popularity of Chinese food. Regional and universal, foreign and familiar, it's a way for Americans to dabble in exoticism. Thanksgiving, she writes, is the only slow day at Chinese restaurants, so waiters and cooks use that day to get married. To see Ms. Lee on 'The Colbert Report,' click 'See also.'

By Jennie Yabroff

Newsweek magazine 2008-03-10

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Cooking up a book

Cooking up a book

HarperCollins

Southern author finds inspiration for novel in good-natured culinary rivalry with her husband. In 'Deep Dish,' Kathy Hogan Trocheck (aka Mary Kay Andrews) tells the story of two chefs who heat things up as they compete for a single programming slot on the mega-successful Cooking Channel.

By Jill Vejnoska

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (may require subscription) 2008-02-28

Haute Japanese

Michelin hires Japanese restaurant judges, showers Tokyo with stars, and sells 290,000-plus copies of its restaurant guide, but Japanese food critics, magazines and the governor of Tokyo question the choices and ratings. They say that outsiders don't know them or their cuisines, and that ranking restaurants offends sensibility against bragging and putting others down.

By Martin Fackler

The New York Times 2008-02-24

Poverty's harsh symptom

Poverty's harsh symptom

Barnes & Noble

Though most of us can't ignore hunger, writing grants and scooping soup won't solve policy problems, Mark Winne writes in "Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty." It's time, he says, to get our heads above the plate and look at the bigger frame. 'We need to say very clearly: We want to end hunger. That will mean a real paradigm shift.'

By Susan Campbell

The Hartford Courant 2008-01-03

Earth moves

Earth moves

Amazon

Nutrient-rich matter that sustains most of our food and supports life is eroding and disappearing, mostly because of modern agricultural practices, says author of "Dirt." Some farmers advocate no-till planting instead, which leaves crop stubble as erosion barrier and ready-made rows for new planting between the stubble.

By Tom Paulson

Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) 2008-01-22

Oyster is his world

Oyster is his world

farm-2-market

The Penn Cove Select, beauty contest winner at Elliott's Oyster House in Seattle.

Salty, mineral, mossy, smoky or metallic, the taste of an oyster is a reflection of the water it filters. Some fans dip them first in the classic vinegar-based mignonette and use cocktail forks, but author Rowan Jacobsen compares eating them to "kissing the sea on the lips," and likes them naked.

By Melissa Block

National Public Radio 2007-11-13

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Review: Getting warmer?

In his new book, "The Warmest Room in the House," Steven Gdula examines the kitchen and its meaning throughout the 20th century. Though its conclusions are warm-hearted, they are wrongheaded; this largely unused room is the coldest in the house.

By Dominique Browning

The New York Times 2007-12-30

How-to

How-to

Penguin Books

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

In his Eater's Manifesto, author Michael Pollan asks us to abandon nutritionism, to think of food as a relationship and not a thing, and to join a movement that encompasses avoidance of disease as well as happiness, pleasure and community - factors ignored in studies or marketing plans or by government agencies.

By Susan Salter Reynolds

Los Angeles Times 2007-12-30

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Page-turning inspiration

Page-turning inspiration

Within an astonishing number of food-related books, the season's best for gift-giving (or keeping) meld entertainment with enlightenment and offer an extra-big helping of history, geography and cookery.

By Nancy Leson

The Seattle Times 2007-12-12

Delicious giving

Delicious giving

From the pleasures of pecans and the passion for ingredients, to the sweets of Italy and easy Indian favorites, a compendium of the year's best books on food and cooking.

By Bonnie S. Benwick

The Washington Post 2007-12-05

Guides and/or gifts

In the group of guidebooks to New York City, a primer for those who like their food Latin-style, top places for tea and all the lingo, and then another on the 600 spots that celebrate - and serve - foods that fit with the Slow Food movement.

By Fareed Mostoufi

Time Out New York 2007-11-29

Cooking and books

Cooking and books

From cozy to worldly, from a chef's knowledge to environmentally sensitive farm specialties, a collection of the year's noteworthy books on cooking and food.

The New York Times 2007-12-02

Open up:

Lunch with John Thorne is a bowl of pickle soup, rye bread with butter and German beer, after a glass of buttermilk with black pepper and chopped chives. Essays from 25 yeaars of his "Simple Cooking" newsletter have been gathered into books; his newest - and most accessible - is "Mouth Wide Open: A Cook and His Appetite."

By Jonathan Levitt

The Boston Globe 2007-11-28

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Review: "The Tummy Trilogy"

In compilation of essays, Calvin Trillin writes about meals and foods that have delighted him. In this Q-and-A, we learn that he yearns for food that's available somewhere else, and, when in a new town, he seeks out restaurants that aren't for special occasions.

BY Andrew Z. Galarneau

The Buffalo News 2007-11-06

Five tastes

For Aristotle and Plato, life, or at least the palate, was sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Years later, Auguste Escoffier invented veal stock while Kikunae Ikeda analyzed seaweed broth - and both found umami, the ultimately yummy flavor found in meat, in aged Parmesan, in soy sauce and in a sun-ripened tomato.

By Robert Krulwich

National Public Radio 2007-11-05

Review: 'The Tenth Muse'

In this fine memoir of a culinary journey, we learn that the food books Judith Jones has edited form an impeccable curriculum of world foods - rigorous, responsible and delightfully authentic, with a gutsy connection to the land and water. But we long to learn more of the struggle, the disappointments and self-doubt that must have come along.

By Dorothy Kalins

The New York Times 2007-11-04

Review: Knowing, nosing

In "Scent of Desire," author's clunky prose detracts, but she does explain that though senses of smell and taste forever are entwined, it's really the nose, with its 20 million olfactory receptors, that starts the whole experience. Without a sniff, there would be no "Remembrance of Things Past."

By Bunny Crumpacker

Washington Post 2007-10-28

Review: Snobs only

In "The Food Snob's Dictionary," David Kamp and Marion Rosenfeld have compiled a pocket-size paperback both as a defense in dealing with such a person and as a primer for those aspiring to lord their knowledge over others, but the reference section isn't quite complete.

By Jill Santopietro

The Boston Globe 2007-10-24

Review: Future farming

In "Manifestos on the Future of Food & Seed," a book of essays collected from Slow Food's Terre Madre festival, Carlo Petrini, Michael Pollan and others contemplate production farming, biodiversity, taste and nutrition.

By Susan Salter Reynolds

Los Angeles Times 2007-09-30

Sour on sweets

Excess sugar intake shown to encourage skin wrinkles and dullness, study shows; author recommends reading labels (a teaspoon of sugar equals 4 grams) and replacing the sweet stuff with more antioxidant-rich fruits, nuts, and vegetables, such as cranberries, walnuts, and red bell peppers.

By Karyn Repinski

Prevention magazine; MSNBC 2007-10-21

Recipes, remembering

In "Apples for Jam," new cookbook by Tessa Kiros, there are ample memories but luckily, there's an equal part of recipes, including those for the tasty Veal Involtini, scaloppine rolled up with a little ham and fresh mozzarella inside, browned and finished in a simple tomato sauce; and Whole Wheat Apple and Apricot Pie.

By Laura Vozzella

The Baltimore Sun 2007-10-24

Eating words

He writes, she writes, they do it together and write "Agnes and the Hitman," a screwball romantic adventure about a food writer, a mob wedding, a hit man and a dognapping attempt - and critics eat it up.

By Sara Pearce

The Enquirer (OH) 2007-09-09

Review: Serving it forth

Laura Shapiro, in "Julia Child" writes about the chef who taught us how to think about food and understand it; Nancy Verde Barr's book, "Backstage With Julia: My Years With Julia Child," is full of endearing anecdotes.

By Dorothy Kalins

The New York Times 2007-08-26

Growing spirit:

Long the designated caretakers of the poor and disenfranchised, religious communities find their interests growing toward farming and food production for reasons including humane treatment of animals, fair wages to workers and stewardship of the Earth.

By Joan Nathan

The New York Times 2007-08-22

Universal needs:

Running an organic garden is easy with a large staff, but techniques, detailed in "The Elements of Organic Gardening," by Prince Charles, are simple - good soil, black plastic, and keeping the chickens out.

By Charles Elliott

The New York Times (may require subscription) 0000-00-00

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Review:

Three books, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life," "Plenty: One Man, One Woman and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally," and "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future," explore the omnivore's dilemma, but only Bill McKibben, in "Deep Economy," looks at global problem.

By Laird Harrison

The News & Observer (NC) 2007-08-19

Eating in China:

In "The Last Chinese Chef," author Nicole Mones explores the territory of grief, food, cooking and the beauty of a wooden chopping block, two feet across, seven or eight inches thick, still ringed with bark, everything finished to a dull gleam.

By Nicole Mones

National Public Radio

Beyond recipes:

Escoffier would be shocked, but Hugo Liu, computer whiz at the MIT Media Lab is shaking up the food world with blend of artificial intelligence and obsession, running recipes through deconstruction computer program and sorting them by emotion.

By Regina Schrambling

Los Angeles Times

Cooking for diabetics:

A few new cookbooks for those with diet-related disease have words of wisdom for all of us: Adapt everyday cooking to healthy meals that can be prepared quickly, practice portion control, shop carefully and read food labels.

By Kathie Smith

Toledo Blade 2007-08-14

Outselling Harry Potter:

Television cook Anjum Anand, dubbed "Indian Nigella," has a way with mangoes that is making her books about simple and delicious Indian cooking fly off the shelves faster than the young wizard can catch a golden snitch.

By JENNY RIGTERINK

Daily Mail (UK) 2007-08-11

Reviews:

"The Zen of Fish," and "The Sushi Economy," offer lessons in how global economy works, dangers of over-fishing and how it thrives on demand, and why trout might not be the best choice for eating raw (think tapeworms).

By Stuart Biggs

bloomberg.com 2007-08-08

Review:

In "Twinkie, Deconstructed," Steve Ettlinger describes the work of making unnecessarily complicated snacks; the book is the polar opposite (complete with smiley face) of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Michael Pollan's frowny faced take on simplifying food.

By Chelsea Martinez

Los Angeles Times

A meal for Tut:

Kamut, a heirloom wheat with a sweet, nutty flavor and high in nutritional qualities, once the darling of the Birkenstock crowd, has captured Italy carbohydrate-wise, and Saskatchewan, as well as Montana and Alberta, are profiting.

By Beppi Crosariol

The Globe and Mail (Canada)