American Terrior by Rowan Jacobsen

This is a book I wish I had written myself. Don't forget to read the chocolate chapter and then go out and buy some of the Taza chocolate it mentions. Some of the best chocolate I have ever eaten! You will have a whole new appreciation for avocados after reading this book...at least I do.

The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky

First posted May 26, 2009: This is the book and the one below look at a food from a former America--when fast food was not yet king--before the interstate system of the 1950s changed the face of America forever.

America Eats! On the Road with the WPA by Pat Willard

First posted May 26, 2009: This is the book and the one above look at a food from a former America--when fast food was not yet king--before the interstate system of the 1950s changed the face of America forever.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Stewart

September 16, 2008: I am SO enjoying this book. More thoughts when I finish reading it. This is a great combination of travelogue and food blog. Great summer reading.

Joan of Arc by Mark Twain

This is what Mark Twain himself says about this amazing book--"I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none."  

In view of this statement, it totally amazes me that Ken Burns' four-hour special about Mark Twain never once mentioned his fascination with and curiosity about Joan of Arc. Curious indeed!

Meridian Exercises: The Oriental Way to Health and Vitality by Shizuto Masunaga

This is one of my favorite books and I am so glad I have two copies because it is out of print and very pricey now. There are a couple other meridian exercise books on the market now, but I haven't tried them. I throw it in my suitcase, but a smaller version would be easier to carry around, so a pocket- or travel-size version would be much handier.

One could take years attempting and improving in these exercises which stretch the invisible meridians. The exercises you find the hardest to do are the ones you need to work on. Even if you attempt and master only the basic exercises, you will feel the benefits in more energy and better sleep.

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee

Look for any edition available, but McGee's second edition is an update of the first with 10 years of research. 

Kabloona---a not-too-politically correct reflection on travels among the indigenous peoples of Canada.

Phylloxera: How Wine Was Saved for the World by Christy Campbell

In the mid-1860s, the vines in the Lower Rhone of France started to whither and die. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the roots were covered with microscopic yellow aphids, later identified as Phylloxera vastatrix, or “dry leaf devastator.” The book chronicles how the parasite had been imported from America with samples of American vines and how the French wine industry's only salvation was to graft European vines onto American rootstock resistant to the insect. So, when you drink French wine, you can thank America.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price.

This tome presents the philosophical underpinnings of the Weston A. Price Foundation.

It chronicles the 1930s travels of Weston A. Price, a Cleveland dentist who went in search of people around the globe who had not yet been exposed to the "displacing foods of modern commerce."

With the help of the elders, he examined and then photographed the dental health of native people. What he found out will give you pause to think before your next meal.

Cafe des Artistes: A Pictorial Guide to the Famed Restaurant and Its Cuisine by Fred Ferretti, Mike Hales (Photographer), Michael Hales, and Cafe des Artistes--a beautiful, but usable coffee table book about George Lang's restaurant in New York City.

A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to have lunch with George at Cafe des Artistes, a guest at his personal table. We had a wonderful Pot-au-Feu--the marrow bones were most memorable--and one of the wines he imports from Hungary.

Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen by George Lang--his autobiography.