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107 reviews for:
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression
Andrew Coe, Jane Ziegelman
3.66 AVERAGE
107 reviews for:
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression
Andrew Coe, Jane Ziegelman
3.66 AVERAGE
Ziegelman and Coe write a detailed and steeped text that looks at every fascet of American cuisine just before and during the Depression. While a riveting read, it's hard to miss the fact that they will often write an entire chapter's worth of recipes, and only have a sentence or two mentioning that things were just "different" for blacks at the time.
I love history and I love food so I had to read this book. I really liked the first couple of chapters and especially the last. It was interesting to read about the start of various programs and concepts and see how the events of the past have shaped our ideas about food in today's world.
Constantly infuriating and depressing, occasionally inspiring, and at all times informative, this is a very readable story of the agriculture, charities, government policies, and a bit on the economics of how people ate directly before, during, and after the Great Depression in the US.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Lots of interesting stories but rather oddly disorganized for a history book. It was kind of all over the place.
I read this after hearing an interview with the authors on Fresh Air. Really, it helped me understand a little more about the way my grandmother cooks, which I've always found heavy on the overcooking vegetables and a little bland. Included here is a recipe for something called a "Pea Roast" which demonstrates that anything can be combined with egg, flour, and breadcrumbs and made into a loaf. Although let's all agree that it would be better not to.
What I liked about the book: all of the information required immense research, and I deeply appreciate that. The pieces that went into detail about the reality at the time challenged my understanding of the time period and was an active reflection catalyst. I loved understanding the policies and politics through a food lens, and want more deconstructed history like this!
What could have been better: a structure that demarcated theme and time. Not focusing only on WASP stories, but digging more into Black and immigrant experiences during the Great Depression. I flipped through many pages because the writing was redundant or read like the author just wanted all of the research to make it into the final draft.
What could not be controlled: I did not care much for the random recipes interjected throughout the book or the random listing of events.
What could have been better: a structure that demarcated theme and time. Not focusing only on WASP stories, but digging more into Black and immigrant experiences during the Great Depression. I flipped through many pages because the writing was redundant or read like the author just wanted all of the research to make it into the final draft.
What could not be controlled: I did not care much for the random recipes interjected throughout the book or the random listing of events.
informative
slow-paced
A really interesting topic, and the authors have clearly done their research, but the book suffers from a lack of organization and a clear thesis or narrative. It can't decide if it wants to move chronologically, thematically, or geographically, and so feels more like a hodgepodge of interesting anecdotes than a book.