More Book Reviews

A second installation of foodie book reviews ...

Already Read

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan - where our food comes from, and what not to eat; Pollan deconstructs four meals and traces them back to their most basic ingredients

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan - what (and how) we should eat instead

Food Rules by Michael Pollan - a few dozen rules of thumb to follow when choosing what/how to eat

For anyone interested in learning about where the food in your grocery store comes from, and how you can make smarter/healthier choices about what to eat, this "trilogy" is a must. Pollan is a journalist by trade, so not only are these books well-researched, but they're also well-written. If you want to pick just one to read, I would go with In Defense of Food.

Currently Reading

The Jungle Effect by Daphne Miller, MD

Miller, a Harvard Medical School grad and a practicing family physician in San Francisco, studies the indigenous diets in four "cold spots," places where a certain chronic disease (or family of diseases) occurs very rarely: diabetes in Copper Canyon, Mexico; heart disease on the island of Crete; depression in Iceland; colon cancer in the rainforest of Cameroon; and breast & prostate cancers in Okinawa, Japan. I've read through 2 ½ of the cold spots, and already I can't wait to try some of the recipes included at the end!

Since I have a biology background, I especially like her explanations of how and why different foods benefit different organs and systems in the human body. (Don't worry, they're not too technical.) It almost makes me want to go back to school to study nutrition science. Almost.

Want to Read

Bringing It to the Table: Writings on Farming and Food by Wendell Berry

My good friend Heather recently read and enjoyed several of Berry's novels (Hannah Coulter, and Remembering); Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver both mention his essays in their books. Although he has authored several other farming-related nonfiction books (A Continuous Harmony: Essays Cultural & Agricultural, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, and The Gift of Good Land: Further Essays Cultural and Agricultural), this collection seems to deal most directly with what we eat and where it comes from. Check him out on Goodreads.