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luminance2687's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn’t get past the chapter on honey. The writing style is excessively conversational, equivocating, uninspired, and frankly a little like a college paper by someone who just wants to get through it. This is confusing because there is much detail and clearly some interest for the subject. Another reviewer mentioned that maybe a third of the information presented is inaccurate. I hope not, that’s a lot of filler. It’s a sizable tome of tedious phrasing and unassertive claims.
rogerjpatterson's review against another edition
2.0
While this covers a variety of interesting topics and the span of human history, the writing is somewhat stream of consciousness and lacks credibility. If it is as accurate in other areas as in the history of wine, with which I am familiar, it is a mere collection of anecdotes, many of which have been discredited by careful research. I finally gave up after I finished the section on wine in favor of other books on the topic which I hope are better researched and more cogently written.
jonas_gehrlein's review against another edition
4.0
The book covers most of the history of food consumption and prodution from roman times to 1970 with a strong French focus. So if you are interested in what types of food people where eating in Europe in the past and how food was prepared and stored, this book gives a good general overview even if the authors viewpoint on how good the food is to eat and a few too many digressions into the why french food is the best, but if you want to know more about food history in Europe,this book is highly recommended
wmhenrymorris's review against another edition
A crazy mix of anthropology, history, classical allusions, anecdotes, commentary and cultural history all wrapped up in a robust love for gastronomy and a Franco-orientation. Delightful (and very very long) so long as you don't take as the gospel truth. Quite the fascinating read.
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