A James Beard Foundation Book Award–winning study of how the Great Depression changed the way the United States eats."With a dinner plate as their lens, the authors explore one of America''s darkest hours." —Wall Street JournalThe idea of America as a place of abundance is enshrined in our culture, from Jefferson''s agrarian democracy to the immensity of our supermarkets. The Great Depression, which left a quarter of all Americans out of work and undernourished, tested our belief in this land''s unlimited bounty, and in the process changed the way America eats.In 1933, after four years of deprivation and national debate, President Roosevelt reversed long-standing biases toward government-sponsored "food charity" and assumed responsibility for feeding the hungry. Championed by Eleanor Roosevelt, "home economists," who had long fought to bring science into the kitchen, rose to national stature. Through the Bureau of Home Economics, these women led a sweeping campaign to impose their vision of a sturdy, utilitarian cuisine and instill nutritional recommendations, the forerunners of today''s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. At the same time, expanding conglomerates introduced packaged and processed foods, which led to a new American cuisine based on speed and convenience. This movement toward a homogenized national diet sparked a revival of American regional cooking that continues to this day.A Square Meal examines how economic contraction and environmental disaster shaped the way Americans ate during the Great Depression, and shares the lessons and insights we may learn from those experiences today."An absorbing account of how the Depression changed eating habits that is by turns amusing and sobering." —Smithsonian"A highly readable, illuminating look at the many ramifications of feeding the hungry in hard times." —Kirkus Reviews

In 1784, passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China, and the first to eat Chinese food. Today, the United States is home to more Chinese restaurants than any other ethnic cuisine. In this authoritative new history, author Andrew Coe traces the fascinating story of America's centuries-long encounter with Chinese food. CHOP SUEY tells how we went from believing that Chinese meals contained dogs and rats to making regular pilgrimages to the neighborhood chop suey parlor. From China, the book follows the story to the American West, where both Chinese and their food struggled against racism, and then to New York and that crucial moment when Chinese cuisine first crossed over to the larger population. Along this journey, Coe shows how the peasant food of an obscure part of China came to dominate Chinese-American restaurants; unravels the truth of chop suey's origin; illuminates why American Jews fell in love with egg rolls and chow mein; and shows how Nixon's 1972 trip to China opened our palates to a new world of cuisine; and explains why we still can't get dishes like restaurants serve in China. The book also shows how larger historical forces shape our tastes--the belief in Manifest Destiny, the American assertion of military might in the Pacific, and the country's post-WWII rise to superpower status. Written for both popular and academic audiences, CHOP SUEY reveals this story through prose that brings to life the characters, settings and meals that helped form this crucial component of American food culture.

In 1784, passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China, and the first to eat Chinese food. Today there are over 40,000 Chinese restaurants across the United States--by far the most plentiful among all our ethnic eateries. Now, in Chop Suey Andrew Coe provides the authoritative history of the American infatuation with Chinese food, telling its fascinating story for the first time.It''s a tale that moves from curiosity to disgust and then desire. From China, Coe''s story travels to the American West, where Chinese immigrants drawn by the 1848 Gold Rush struggled against racism and culinary prejudice but still established restaurants and farms and imported an array of Asian ingredients. He traces the Chinese migration to the East Coast, highlighting that crucial moment when New York "Bohemians" discovered Chinese cuisine--and for better or worse, chop suey. Along the way, Coe shows how the peasant food of an obscure part of China came to dominate Chinese-American restaurants; unravels the truth of chop suey''s origins; reveals why American Jews fell in love with egg rolls and chow mein; shows how President Nixon''s 1972 trip to China opened our palates to a new range of cuisine; and explains why we still can''t get dishes like those served in Beijing or Shanghai. The book also explores how American tastes have been shaped by our relationship with the outside world, and how we''ve relentlessly changed foreign foods to adapt to them our own deep-down conservative culinary preferences.Andrew Coe''s Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States is a fascinating tour of America''s centuries-long appetite for Chinese food. Always illuminating, often exploding long-held culinary myths, this book opens a new window into defining what is American cuisine.

In 1784, passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China, and the first to eat Chinese food. Today there are over 40,000 Chinese restaurants across the United States--by far the most plentiful among all our ethnic eateries. Now, in Chop Suey Andrew Coe provides the authoritative history of the American infatuation with Chinese food, telling its fascinating story for the first time.It''s a tale that moves from curiosity to disgust and then desire. From China, Coe''s story travels to the American West, where Chinese immigrants drawn by the 1848 Gold Rush struggled against racism and culinary prejudice but still established restaurants and farms and imported an array of Asian ingredients. He traces the Chinese migration to the East Coast, highlighting that crucial moment when New York "Bohemians" discovered Chinese cuisine--and for better or worse, chop suey. Along the way, Coe shows how the peasant food of an obscure part of China came to dominate Chinese-American restaurants; unravels the truth of chop suey''s origins; reveals why American Jews fell in love with egg rolls and chow mein; shows how President Nixon''s 1972 trip to China opened our palates to a new range of cuisine; and explains why we still can''t get dishes like those served in Beijing or Shanghai. The book also explores how American tastes have been shaped by our relationship with the outside world, and how we''ve relentlessly changed foreign foods to adapt to them our own deep-down conservative culinary preferences.Andrew Coe''s Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States is a fascinating tour of America''s centuries-long appetite for Chinese food. Always illuminating, often exploding long-held culinary myths, this book opens a new window into defining what is American cuisine.

A fascinating window into America's past via one of our favorite foods.There is no humbler food than bread, none easier to take for granted. So ancient that it shows up in prehistoric sites, bread is still full of surprises. Heirloom grains and artisan loaves fetch top dollar, while home bakers pour their passion into naan and challah, anadama and pistolet.In this book, award-winning author Andrew Coe provides the definitive history of American bread, from European settlers' introduction to corn through the COVID-era sourdough craze. Each chapter follows an emblematic loaf that connects flour, water, salt, and yeast to the evolving story of American agriculture, industry, immigration, and ideas about health.Why did supermarket white become America's dominant bread, and how did rustic old-world bagels, ryes, and rolls find their way into our kitchens? Who was the early nineteenth-century dietary reformer who started the whole-grain revolution? Why not knead? An enriching and enlightening cultural chronicle, American Bread answers these questions and more and offers carefully sourced historical recipes to inspire the home baker.

Veterinary Surgeon Steve Turner is travelling alone in South America when a chilling, life threatening event sets him on a path that will change his life forever. From the steaming jungles of Bolivia to the smoking volcanoes and arid plains of Patagonia, A Father for a Daughter is more than just a road trip through the stunning South American Andes. It is also a journey of the spirit that will test Steve's ingenuity and resolve, as he strives to reach a place of safety for himself and the young travelling companion he acquires along the way.  During long evenings sat under the stars round their campfire, these two unlikely souls, thrown together by fate, learn about each other's lives and form a bond of love that is both beautiful and uplifting. Add into the mix a Chilean woman who changes not just the course of their journey but the course of Steve's heart too, and you have an inspiring story of selfless parental and romantic love, set against some of South America's most iconic landscapes.  This book will transform your life – as you turn the last page you will be planning your own adventure to this breath taking region of the world.

"Pirate's Gold" is story of a great American fortune, a man with the Midas touch, and his descendants who inherited more money than was good for them. A small-town boy from Massachusetts, Henry Huttleston "Hell-Hound" Rogers helped build Standard Oil into the world’s largest oil company, gaining renown as a notorious Wall Street “pirate.” After he died, his children inherited $49,000,000--billions in today's money. None of his descendants lived so large as Rogers’ son, Colonel Henry Rogers Jr., and his two children, Millicent and Harry. During the 1920s, the public was fascinated by the saga of Millicent’s ill-fated marriage to Count Salm, the Austrian tennis champion with matinee idol good looks. In the 1930s Harry’s involvement in the death of an actress at a drunken party was front page news in every city in the country. "Pirate's Gold" looks beneath the headlines to uncover the roots of these stories: the struggles over money and love, and the difficulties of living up to one’s famous family name.

A James Beard Foundation Book Award–winning study of how the Great Depression changed the way the United States eats."With a dinner plate as their lens, the authors explore one of America''s darkest hours." —Wall Street JournalThe idea of America as a place of abundance is enshrined in our culture, from Jefferson''s agrarian democracy to the immensity of our supermarkets. The Great Depression, which left a quarter of all Americans out of work and undernourished, tested our belief in this land''s unlimited bounty, and in the process changed the way America eats.In 1933, after four years of deprivation and national debate, President Roosevelt reversed long-standing biases toward government-sponsored "food charity" and assumed responsibility for feeding the hungry. Championed by Eleanor Roosevelt, "home economists," who had long fought to bring science into the kitchen, rose to national stature. Through the Bureau of Home Economics, these women led a sweeping campaign to impose their vision of a sturdy, utilitarian cuisine and instill nutritional recommendations, the forerunners of today''s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. At the same time, expanding conglomerates introduced packaged and processed foods, which led to a new American cuisine based on speed and convenience. This movement toward a homogenized national diet sparked a revival of American regional cooking that continues to this day.A Square Meal examines how economic contraction and environmental disaster shaped the way Americans ate during the Great Depression, and shares the lessons and insights we may learn from those experiences today."An absorbing account of how the Depression changed eating habits that is by turns amusing and sobering." —Smithsonian"A highly readable, illuminating look at the many ramifications of feeding the hungry in hard times." —Kirkus Reviews

In 1784, passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China, and the first to eat Chinese food. Today, the United States is home to more Chinese restaurants than any other ethnic cuisine. In this authoritative new history, author Andrew Coe traces the fascinating story of America's centuries-long encounter with Chinese food. CHOP SUEY tells how we went from believing that Chinese meals contained dogs and rats to making regular pilgrimages to the neighborhood chop suey parlor. From China, the book follows the story to the American West, where both Chinese and their food struggled against racism, and then to New York and that crucial moment when Chinese cuisine first crossed over to the larger population. Along this journey, Coe shows how the peasant food of an obscure part of China came to dominate Chinese-American restaurants; unravels the truth of chop suey's origin; illuminates why American Jews fell in love with egg rolls and chow mein; and shows how Nixon's 1972 trip to China opened our palates to a new world of cuisine; and explains why we still can't get dishes like restaurants serve in China. The book also shows how larger historical forces shape our tastes--the belief in Manifest Destiny, the American assertion of military might in the Pacific, and the country's post-WWII rise to superpower status. Written for both popular and academic audiences, CHOP SUEY reveals this story through prose that brings to life the characters, settings and meals that helped form this crucial component of American food culture.

In 1784, passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China, and the first to eat Chinese food. Today there are over 40,000 Chinese restaurants across the United States--by far the most plentiful among all our ethnic eateries. Now, in Chop Suey Andrew Coe provides the authoritative history of the American infatuation with Chinese food, telling its fascinating story for the first time.It''s a tale that moves from curiosity to disgust and then desire. From China, Coe''s story travels to the American West, where Chinese immigrants drawn by the 1848 Gold Rush struggled against racism and culinary prejudice but still established restaurants and farms and imported an array of Asian ingredients. He traces the Chinese migration to the East Coast, highlighting that crucial moment when New York "Bohemians" discovered Chinese cuisine--and for better or worse, chop suey. Along the way, Coe shows how the peasant food of an obscure part of China came to dominate Chinese-American restaurants; unravels the truth of chop suey''s origins; reveals why American Jews fell in love with egg rolls and chow mein; shows how President Nixon''s 1972 trip to China opened our palates to a new range of cuisine; and explains why we still can''t get dishes like those served in Beijing or Shanghai. The book also explores how American tastes have been shaped by our relationship with the outside world, and how we''ve relentlessly changed foreign foods to adapt to them our own deep-down conservative culinary preferences.Andrew Coe''s Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States is a fascinating tour of America''s centuries-long appetite for Chinese food. Always illuminating, often exploding long-held culinary myths, this book opens a new window into defining what is American cuisine.

In 1784, passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China, and the first to eat Chinese food. Today there are over 40,000 Chinese restaurants across the United States--by far the most plentiful among all our ethnic eateries. Now, in Chop Suey Andrew Coe provides the authoritative history of the American infatuation with Chinese food, telling its fascinating story for the first time.It''s a tale that moves from curiosity to disgust and then desire. From China, Coe''s story travels to the American West, where Chinese immigrants drawn by the 1848 Gold Rush struggled against racism and culinary prejudice but still established restaurants and farms and imported an array of Asian ingredients. He traces the Chinese migration to the East Coast, highlighting that crucial moment when New York "Bohemians" discovered Chinese cuisine--and for better or worse, chop suey. Along the way, Coe shows how the peasant food of an obscure part of China came to dominate Chinese-American restaurants; unravels the truth of chop suey''s origins; reveals why American Jews fell in love with egg rolls and chow mein; shows how President Nixon''s 1972 trip to China opened our palates to a new range of cuisine; and explains why we still can''t get dishes like those served in Beijing or Shanghai. The book also explores how American tastes have been shaped by our relationship with the outside world, and how we''ve relentlessly changed foreign foods to adapt to them our own deep-down conservative culinary preferences.Andrew Coe''s Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States is a fascinating tour of America''s centuries-long appetite for Chinese food. Always illuminating, often exploding long-held culinary myths, this book opens a new window into defining what is American cuisine.

A fascinating window into America's past via one of our favorite foods.There is no humbler food than bread, none easier to take for granted. So ancient that it shows up in prehistoric sites, bread is still full of surprises. Heirloom grains and artisan loaves fetch top dollar, while home bakers pour their passion into naan and challah, anadama and pistolet.In this book, award-winning author Andrew Coe provides the definitive history of American bread, from European settlers' introduction to corn through the COVID-era sourdough craze. Each chapter follows an emblematic loaf that connects flour, water, salt, and yeast to the evolving story of American agriculture, industry, immigration, and ideas about health.Why did supermarket white become America's dominant bread, and how did rustic old-world bagels, ryes, and rolls find their way into our kitchens? Who was the early nineteenth-century dietary reformer who started the whole-grain revolution? Why not knead? An enriching and enlightening cultural chronicle, American Bread answers these questions and more and offers carefully sourced historical recipes to inspire the home baker.

Veterinary Surgeon Steve Turner is travelling alone in South America when a chilling, life threatening event sets him on a path that will change his life forever. From the steaming jungles of Bolivia to the smoking volcanoes and arid plains of Patagonia, A Father for a Daughter is more than just a road trip through the stunning South American Andes. It is also a journey of the spirit that will test Steve's ingenuity and resolve, as he strives to reach a place of safety for himself and the young travelling companion he acquires along the way.  During long evenings sat under the stars round their campfire, these two unlikely souls, thrown together by fate, learn about each other's lives and form a bond of love that is both beautiful and uplifting. Add into the mix a Chilean woman who changes not just the course of their journey but the course of Steve's heart too, and you have an inspiring story of selfless parental and romantic love, set against some of South America's most iconic landscapes.  This book will transform your life – as you turn the last page you will be planning your own adventure to this breath taking region of the world.

"Pirate's Gold" is story of a great American fortune, a man with the Midas touch, and his descendants who inherited more money than was good for them. A small-town boy from Massachusetts, Henry Huttleston "Hell-Hound" Rogers helped build Standard Oil into the world’s largest oil company, gaining renown as a notorious Wall Street “pirate.” After he died, his children inherited $49,000,000--billions in today's money. None of his descendants lived so large as Rogers’ son, Colonel Henry Rogers Jr., and his two children, Millicent and Harry. During the 1920s, the public was fascinated by the saga of Millicent’s ill-fated marriage to Count Salm, the Austrian tennis champion with matinee idol good looks. In the 1930s Harry’s involvement in the death of an actress at a drunken party was front page news in every city in the country. "Pirate's Gold" looks beneath the headlines to uncover the roots of these stories: the struggles over money and love, and the difficulties of living up to one’s famous family name.