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Original Essays | October 18, 2009

Victoria Hislop: IMG From Leprosy to Lorca — Strange Inspiration



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    The Return

    Victoria Hislop

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Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America

by Laura Shapiro

Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America Cover

ISBN13: 9780143034919
ISBN10: 014303491x
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A lively narrative history of how American home cooking changed in the 1950s — from "anti-cooking" marketing to Julia Child.

In this delightfully surprising history, Laura Shapiro — author of the classic Perfection Salad — recounts the prepackaged dreams that bombarded American kitchens during the fifties. Faced with convincing homemakers that foxhole food could make it in the dining room, the food industry put forth the marketing notion that cooking was hard; opening cans, on the other hand, wasn't. But women weren't so easily convinced by the canned and plastic-wrapped concoctions and a battle for both the kitchen and the true definition of homemaker ensued. Beautifully written and full of wry observation, this is a fun, illuminating, and definitely easy-to-digest look back at a crossroads in American cooking.

Review:

"In the fifties, we're always told, the food industry barged into the American kitchen, waving TV dinners, and destroyed home cooking. Not so fast, Shapiro says....[V]ery funny, and also subtle." The New Yorker

Review:

"[A] well-researched history of the relationship between the American woman's domestic role as family cook and the American food industry....[H]ighly readable." Library Journal

Review:

"Entertaining and well researched, but disjointed." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"Shapiro's graceful, flowing prose makes this history of both cooking and women utterly compelling." Booklist

Synopsis:

In this delightfully surprising history, Shapiro — author of the classic Perfection Salad — recounts the prepackaged dreams that bombarded American kitchens during the fifties.

About the Author

Laura Shapiro was an award-winning writer at Newsweek for more than fifteen years, and has written for many publications, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Granta, and Gourmet.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Jenn, August 28, 2006 (view all comments by Jenn)
With WWII over, what do you do with all the left over canned meats? Why, you market them towards American housewives, of course! This was a facinating read, and one that would entertain anyone who likes to read about cooking, marketing, psychology, or the 1950s. I loved reading about some of the worst recipes from the era, such as strawberry jello and pickles. Or all the things mayo was added into. There were times I wondered how people actually ate some of the stuff described, but I suppose someone did! I'm glad I live in a time where you don't have to worry about going to a church pot-luck and maybe getting pickles or mayo in your jello! :) Or visiting someone and getting half a cinnamon doughnut with strawberry jam on it, covered in cottage cheese!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780143034919
Subtitle:
Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America
Author:
Shapiro, Laura
Author:
Shapiro, Laurie Gwen
Publisher:
Libri
Subject:
Social history
Subject:
Women's Studies - History
Subject:
Regional & Ethnic - American - General
Subject:
History
Copyright:
Publication Date:
20050329
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
7.78x5.14x.60 in. .49 lbs.

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