"During my forty year culinary career, there have been a select number of books that became touchstones, volumes that seemed to arrive just when inspiration was needed or direction was appropriate, books that somehow enhanced my sense of having found my calling. The newest addition to the list is a work of culinary history by Rachel Laudan."
Virginia B. Wood The Austin Chronicle, on the range "It seems like every time you hear someone mention processed food, it's accompanied with the words 'bad' or 'unhealthy,' plus a shaking finger. Unless you're author Rachel Laudan." Los Angeles Times Daily Dish "Magnificent ... Some of Laudan's 'diffusion maps' of particular styles of cuisine are miniature masterpieces of cultural history." TLS "Epic in range... Its solidity and substance make a change from the day-to-day scatter of information delivered and consumed in tweets and sound bites." The Daily Spud "A fascinating account of the rise and fall of cuisines... Touching on all parts of the globe, Rachel explores human development through the vastly understated tool of food." Blue Lifestyle Minute "A new standard for global culinary history." Repast