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Title: Much Depends on Dinner
Subtitle: The Extraordinary History and Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos of an Ordinary Meal
Author: Margaret Visser
Narrator: Suzanne Toren
Format: Unabridged
Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
Language: English
Release date: 10-30-08
Publisher: Recorded Books
Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 33 votes
Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences
Publisher's Summary:
In this indulgent and perceptive guide we hear the history of Corn Flakes, why canned California olives are so unsatisfactory (they're picked green, chemically blackened, then sterilized), and the fact that in Africa, citrus fruit is eaten rind and all. For food lovers of all kinds, this unexpectedly funny and serious book is a treasure of information, shedding light on one of our most favorite pastimes.
Members Reviews:
One of my all time favorite books
I have been in love with this book since forever. It's really what started my interest in the history of food. I know some people might find the subject repetitive or boring, but I am not one of those people.
Regarding the narration, it's great.
This book isn't exactly a page-turner, but it hits every note I'm looking for.
And also, when I can't sleep, this is what I put on. It is warm and comforting, like being read to at night when I was a little kid. I own it in paperback, Kindle, and Audible.
Excellent, fascinating.
What did you love best about Much Depends on Dinner?
Wonderful. Margaret Visser posits a dinner (corn, butter, rice, chicken, ice cream, salad with olive oil and lemon) and then provides a sweeping historical and anthropological view of each component. She not only provides a fascinating, even enthralling, history, but also explores the mythological significance of each food and its role in politics and even war.
What did you like best about this story?
It is so fact-rich that with another author, it might sink under its own weight, but Vissers charming, open style pulls you along. Ice cream is not just ice cream; its a history of thermodynamics. Rice is not just rice, its the story of political organization. Corn is not just corn; its the rise of industrial food.
What does Suzanne Toren bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?
Toren was the perfect narrator for this. She took what might have been a fact-heavy book and turned it into a fascinating story, pulling you along from fact to fact as if each tidbit was a revelation. She was wonderful.
Any additional comments?
Published in 1985, its slightly dated and should be read in conjunction with Michael Pollans The Omnivores Dilemma, which takes the history and anthropology and adds a moral core. Absolutely wonderful and highly recommended.
Really informative!
What made the experience of listening to Much Depends on Dinner the most enjoyable?
You want to learn everything there is to know about the food that we eat then pick this book
What did you like best about this story?
I really liked that it went through how it is made, to the social implications to the mythology behind the food that we eat.
UGH
I like Margaret Vissers' books as a rule, but this entire package is just sad. The narrator mispronounces a lot of English food terms, although she has passable French.
The book;'s contents are simply too scholarly and the quality of the narration too poor to allow me to rate any higher. Read this book - yes, but in paper form please.
