Synopses & Reviews
How Carrots Won the Trojan War is a delightful collection of little-known stories about the origins, legends, and historical significance of 23 of the worlds most popular vegetables. Curious cooks, gardeners, and casual readers alike will be fascinated by these far-fetched tales of their favorite foods pasts. Readers will discover why Roman gladiators were massaged with onion juice before battle, how celery contributed to Casanovas conquests, how peas almost poisoned General Washington, and why some seventeenth-century turnips were considered degenerate.
How Carrots Won the Trojan War is the perfect book for vegetable gardeners, foodies, and anyone else interested in the secret stories behind a salad.
Review
“Rebecca Rupp has done us the favor of serving up a savory history of something many of us dont think much about—vegetables. . . . How Carrots Won the Trojan War assembles a palatable cornucopia of these stories, both satisfying and delicious.” Edible Notes
Review
"Honestly, this might be the most delightful, laugh-yourself-silly title to make its way onto the garden bookshelf in a long, long time."
Review
How Carrots Won the Trojan War: Curious (But True) Stories of Common Vegetables is a delightful romp into the history of the vegetables gracing our common tables from noted expert and author Rebecca Rupp.
Synopsis
Discover why Roman gladiators were massaged with onion juice before battle, how celery contributed to Casanova's conquests, how peas almost poisoned General Washington, and why some seventeenth-century turnips were considered degenerate. Rebecca Rupp tells the strange and fascinating history of 23 of the world's most popular vegetables. Gardeners, foodies, history buffs, and anyone who wants to know the secret stories concealed in a salad are sure to enjoy this delightful and informative collection.
About the Author
Rebecca Rupp has a Ph.D. is in cell biology and biochemistry. She has written over 200 articles for national magazines and over a dozen award-winning books, both for children and adults, among them
Red Oaks and Black Birches: The Science and Lore of Trees, Committed to Memory: How We Remember and Why We Forget, and
Four Elements: Water, Air, Fire, and Earth. She is the resource editor for
Home Education Magazine, a contributing editor to
GreenPrints, and an educational consultant to the Vermont Center for the Book.
She likes used-book stores, coffee, fountain pens, kayaking, gardening, the New Scientist, the New York Review of Books, and Vermont, which is where she is from.
She is very good about eating her vegetables.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Vegetables In and Out of the Garden
One: In Which Asparagus Seduces the King of France
Two: In Which Beans Beat Back the Dark Ages
Three: In Which Beets Make Victorian Belles Blush
Four: In Which Cabbage Confounds Diogenes
Five: In Which Carrots Win the Trojan War
Six: In Which Celery Contributes to Casanova's Conquests
Seven: In Which Corn Creates Vampires
Eight: In Which Cucumbers Imitate Pigeons
Nine: In Which An Eggplant Causes a Holy Man to Faint
Ten: In Which Lettuce Puts Insomniacs to Sleep
Eleven: In Which Melons Undermine Mark Twain's Morals
Twelve: In Which Onions Offend Don Quixote
Thirteen: In Which Peas Almost Poison General Washington
Fourteen: In Which Peppers Win the Nobel Prize
Fifteen: In Which Potatoes Baffle the Conquistadors
Sixteen: In Which Pumpkins Attend the World's Fair
Seventeen: In Which Radishes Identify Witches
Eighteen: In Which Spinach Deceives a Generation of Children
Nineteen: In Which Tomatoes Fail to Kill Colonel Johnson
Twenty: In Which Turnips Make a Viscount Famous