The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites is a smorgasbord of "bites" of American history from the pre-Columbus era ("Maize") to the debate over GMOs, collected by Libby H. O'Connell, a History Channel filmmaker and connoisseur of American cuisine.
Readers can approach this survey formally--proceeding chronologically through the bites (which are, themselves, grouped into chapters) and thus through the centuries and their representative dishes--or sample sections at random. Are you a Civil War buff? Start with chapter five, "Hardtack and Chop Suey," to learn the differences between Union and Rebel rations, the recipe for Mary Todd Lincoln's white almond cake and why Asian workers were cheaper to hire for the construction of the transcontinental railroad. (They cooked their own food; white workers demanded board.)
Graphically irresistible and eminently digestible, O'Connell's book includes quick, meaty reads and vintage photos, advertisements and newspaper clips. Skim the pages and you'll take a visual trip through the past: "Pie" has an accompanying painting of a colonial housewife rolling a crust, "Beer and Pretzels" bears a photo of hardy German-Americans raising their mugs and a photo in "Iceberg Lettuce" depicts migrant farm workers.
Have you ever wondered how lunch pails came to be? (Hint: miners.) What counts as a cocktail? (The term was popularized in the early 1800s to describe syllabubs, toddies and punches.) How old is Jell-O? (Often identified with the '50s and '60s, it actually shimmied onto menus around 1900.) As addictive as potato chips, The American Plate whets the palate for history, even if American bison and roast beavertail aren't your cup of tea. --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, manager, Book Passage, San Francisco