****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This book is a compilation (and I think expansion) of various articles written by a Dallas, Texas newspaper's food editor in 1999 regarding the 20th century in food history, done as a retrospective for the newspaper. It is not a scholarly piece by any stretch, and the editing isn't the best I've ever seen, but it's a fun-to-read casual history for those interested in the subject of food or advertising.One thing readers will notice immediately is how gorgeous the book is. It's a shame the publisher squandered such lavish printing on something so poorly-edited--because "lavish" is the only word I can think of to describe the wealth of color illustrations, the fine thick paper, and frequent appearance of photos and paintings in this book. The advertisements reproduced therein are numerous and often ones I hadn't seen before. Just from an aesthetic standpoint, this book is beautiful (IMO making it a good gift).But to enjoy that lavish production value one must wade through some hideous typesetting decisions, with tiny print frequently set against frequently-dark backgrounds, and some formatting decisions best characterized as "quirky," such as the decision to repeat information constantly. Each chapter features a timeline at its end that generally just serves to repeat information that was already presented in the text; I almost wonder if these timelines were originally sidebars in the newspaper spread in which the articles originally appeared. I liked the ads, but many of them are reproduced too small to read or else are smudged; some have little to no relationship with cooking (like one photo of Vietnam soldiers with a washing machine), and often are put in the wrong decade's chapter. Sources are almost never cited, and the source list at the end is a collection of manufacturers' recipe books and equally-popular histories and biographies--with almost nothing in it that I'd call scholarly. So this book may frustrate people who buy it thinking it's a serious history.One touch I thought charming was the inclusion of contemporary recipes to highlight each decade's trends; I thought the author did a good job of picking each one, and often they were foods I hadn't seen in that context before then. Most of the recipes are for good-sounding food, with very little that looked horrible or inedible to modern sensibilities. The author clearly wasn't aiming to gross modern people out but to entice them to try out a little American history in the kitchen, and I think she succeeded. The standout highlight of them (besides one of the easiest Lady Baltimore recipes I've ever seen) is a bake-off-style side-by-side presentation of cookies from Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton.Overall, someone who is already very versed in food history or advertising history might like this book from a visual standpoint. It's got great ad reproductions in it and the recipes are fun. But the people who'll like it most are those who are just getting into the subjects--and who moreover have good vision to get through the typesetting.The book itself was a disappointment. Some of the wording was color ink against a color background which made it difficult to read. I was happy with the service and shall order from these people again.This book helped me obtain an A in my US History Class. I found it very informative with lots of pictures. Its just detailed enough to be fun. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting just a tableside book or one for a report!Loved reading this. A friend of mine recommended it. It's informative, with lots of pictures. If you like reading things like this, you'll love this book!Good reading with a lot of history of all the foods covered. Interesting for all ages. This would make a wonderful gift.I don't understand the poor reviews. This book is best I have ever seen on American food fads. It shows how the advertising companies and the processed food industry colluded to create the typical American's rotten diet of chemically engineered and nutritionally stripped food! When you see all the cute ads in full color over the past century, it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out how this all came about. With Type 2 (preventable) diabetes skyrocketing in the USA, this book should be a part of every American history & Medical School curriculum! See: I was appalled and dismayed to read the tacky little review of Ms. Bundy's book, The Century in Food. Thanks to this book, I was led on a delightful romp through the foods and foolishness that defined us as American eaters during the past century. Not only are the pictures entertaining and nostalgic, but I found myself quoting this book daily after devouring it one night. I found The Century in Food to not only be a worthy addition to our American cultural discourse but the best conversation-enhancer I have come upon in years. Our memories, our taste buds, and our buying habits are chronicled here and I, for one. am thrilled that Ms. Bundy has given us all this fodder to ponder.This is probably one of the worst books on food history I've ever read. One would think that since the publisher released the book several months late, they might have used that extra time to proofread. The number of typographical errors truly astounded me, and made the book difficult, if not agonizing, to read. There is very little actual text, as this is primarily a picture book. While the pictures are of fine quality and brought back many memories, I noticed that the captions didn't always match up with the pictures. And while the brightly colored pages did make a visually interesting background, it also made the tiny type rather difficult to read. Overall, there is very little to learn from this book, and anyone who is interested in food history would be better served by one of the many other books already on the market.
