Near a Thousand Tables A History of Food [Paperback]

InNear a Thousand Tables,acclaimed food historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto tells the fascinating story of food as cultural as well as culinary history -- a window on the history of mankind.
In this appetizingly provocative (Los Angeles Times)book, he guides readers through the eight great revolutions in the world history of food: the origins of cooking, which set humankind on a course apart from other species; the ritualization of eating, which brought magic and meaning into people's relationship with what they ate; the inception of herding and the invention of agriculture, perhaps the two greatest revolutions of all; the rise of inequality, which led to the development of haute cuisine; the long-range trade in food which, practically alone, broke down cultural barriers; the ecological exchanges, which revolutionized the global distribution of plants and livestock; and, finally, the industrialization and globalization of mass-produced food.
From prehistoric snail herding to Roman banquets to Big Macs to genetically modified tomatoes,Near a Thousand Tablesis a full-course meal of extraordinary narrative, brilliant insight, and fascinating explorations that will satisfy the hungriest of readers.Felipe Fernández-Armestois a Professorial Fellow of Queen Mary, University of London, and a member of the Modern History Faculty at Oxford University. He is the author of thirteen books, includingMillenium: A History of the Last Thousand YearsandCivilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature.

Contents

Preface 

One

The Invention of Cooking

The First Revolution 

Two

The Meaning of Eating

Food as Rite and Magic 

Three

Breeding to Eat

The Herding Revolution: From Collecting Food to Producing It 

Four

The Edible Earth

Managing Plant Life for Food