British gastrodetective Ross pairs a wide range of politicians, dictators, revolutionaries, heroes, and geniuses with their cuisine preferences, providing both recipes and descriptions of the dishes. She names Israeli leader Golda Meir's heartwarming gruel, President Lyndon B. Johnson's beef ribs, Russian head Boris Yeltsin's favorite fish soup, Margaret Thatcher's conservative 'Iron Lady Ginger Cake,' and JFK's beloved fish chowder, among others. Her 'Rebel' and 'Outlaws' sections are full of historic detail and tongue-in-cheek relish, and they possess a real comic edge. Ross samples Nelson Mandela's biryani of spicy lamb, Lenin's 'Comrade's Cabbage and Dumpling Soup,' Malcolm X's savory pecan pie, and Osama Bin Laden's toxic Swedish delicacy of smoked sausage with potatoes and mustard. Her heroes include Martin Luther King Jr., Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein, and she especially enjoys Sigmund Freud's Viennese rindfleisch goulash and Gandhi's 'Seaman's Roti.' Most of the civilization's famous and infamous appear in Ross's slyly humorous food dossier, which is concocted to be taken seriously while producing a belly laugh or two.
Publishers Weekly