SKU: 44990109534

A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression

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A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great DepressionJames Beard Foundation Book Award Winner From the author of the acclaimed 97 Orchard and her husband, a culinary historian, an in depth exploration of the greatest food crisis the nation has ever faced the Great Depression and how it transformed America's culinary culture. The decade long Great Depression, a period of shifts in the country's political and social landscape, forever changed the way America eats. Before 1929, America's relationship with

James Beard Foundation Book Award Winner

From the author of the acclaimed 97 Orchard and her husband, a culinary historian, an in-depth exploration of the greatest food crisis the nation has ever faced--the Great Depression--and how it transformed America's culinary culture.

The decade-long Great Depression, a period of shifts in the country's political and social landscape, forever changed the way America eats. Before 1929, America's relationship with food was defined by abundance. But the collapse of the economy, in both urban and rural America, left a quarter of all Americans out of work and undernourished--shattering long-held assumptions about the limitlessness of the national larder.

In 1933, as women struggled to feed their families, President Roosevelt reversed long-standing biases toward government-sponsored "food charity." For the first time in American history, the federal government assumed, for a while, responsibility for feeding its citizens. The effects were widespread. Championed by Eleanor Roosevelt, "home economists" who had long fought to bring science into the kitchen rose to national stature.

Tapping into America's long-standing ambivalence toward culinary enjoyment, they imposed their vision of a sturdy, utilitarian cuisine on the American dinner table. Through the Bureau of Home Economics, these women led a sweeping campaign to instill dietary recommendations, the forerunners of today's Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

At the same time, rising food conglomerates introduced packaged and processed foods that gave rise to a new American cuisine based on speed and convenience. This movement toward a homogenized national cuisine sparked a revival of American regional cooking. In the ensuing decades, the tension between local traditions and culinary science has defined our national cuisine--a battle that continues today.

A Square Meal examines the impact of economic contraction and environmental disaster on how Americans ate then--and the lessons and insights those experiences may hold for us today.

A Square Meal features 25 black-and-white photographs.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Published: 08/15/2017
ISBN: 9780062216427
Pages: 336
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.90d
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SKU: 44990109534

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M. Heiss
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 4
This one's in color
Format: Paperback
This book was glorious. It presented the invasion vividly. The Allied forces sure kicked Rommel's butt, and although the American forces had many casualties, the Germans were defeated. After the Allies liberated France, people revealed hidden Tri-Color French flags. I was interested to learn about the problem of French hedgerows and how an American sargent (Curtis Cullin) improvised a brush-cutter out of the beach barricades in order to leave the tanks less vulnerable as they crossed the fields. Thank you Curtis! The book also talked about a German tank commander named Michael Wittmann and his Tiger tank. This was a powerful weapon that destroyed a group of Shermans very quickly and then took out part of a convoy. The allies finished him off by using British Fireflies (a British type of tank) that sent a disabling shot into the tank. Michael Wittman and his crew escaped. There was good tank action in this book. It feels like you're stuck in the middle of battle, but you're safe. But you're watching in horror. The drawings of the Avro Lancasters were really great. That's my favorite British plane. The air war made the difference in the invasion's success. If it weren't for the RAF and the Allied air forces, the invasion might not have succeeded. I'm eleven years old, and this is a really good book. I learned a lot. This book had really good maps, and it was in color. That helped me a lot. The blood was not too bloody -- just scribbles. Parent note: my son says blood and guts included.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2014
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Roger O. Thornhill
West Palm Beach, US
★★★★★ 5
Great read for a WWII enthusiast
Format: Paperback
Purchased for my nephew who is 11 and a WWII aficionado, "Bombing Nazi Germany" and "Normandy" did not disappoint. While I got him the graphic novels because he is a visual kid, he really enjoyed the text. Which is good because there is a lot of text. I am an avid reader of graphic novels and found these books to be more text-driven than much of what I've read. That said, the prose is solid, unadorned, and moves the narrative smoothly from pane to pane. I recommend this for anyone fascinated by war histories who also values detailed illustrations of the same.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2014
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S. Connelly
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
I wish my Dad had lived long enough to have this given to him!
Format: Paperback
As I said for Mr. Vansant's Gettysburg graphic novel, this is perhaps the best visual description of all of the planning, logistics, and follow-up battles that gave the Allies their second front, and began the march to Berlin, and the eventual downfall of Hitler's Thousand Year Plan. I have studied War History for as long as I can remember - focusing mostly of the American Civil War, World War 2, and Vietnam; three of the United States' greatest turning points in warfare - but my Dad and I shared a huge interest in WW2, watching as many documentaries on it as we could. What most people do not know about the importance of the war is that it is one of the few times that most of the world was not only involved either directly or indirectly, but also it is one that everyone - and I mean everyone, from the footsoldiers, leaders, and civilians - knew exactly why and what they were fighting for. While it seems odd to refer to events so brutal as noble, that is the best way to describe World War 2, since most of the world was involved in it, and why.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2015
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RS
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
10-year-old grandson loves this book
Format: Paperback
I bought this for my grandson who is very interested in World War II. He has just turned 10. He loves the book. It seems to be the perfect balance between text and pictures. He will learn about the experiences of his great grandparents while learning to read at the same time.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2020
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WiltDurkey
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
A+
Thought it did a really good job framing the big picture, as well as showing some of the nitty gritty details of the fighting that took place. Even though I thought I already knew a lot about D-Day, I still learned some things along the way. Note: although I do most of my reading on my Kindle Paperwhite, I read this on my iPad Kindle app instead. I don't expect the graphics to come off too well on a non-tablet Kindle so did not even download it there.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2016

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