Eating and Being: A History of Ideas About Our Food and Ourselves (Steven Shapin)

In Eating and Being: A History of Ideas About Our Food and Ourselves, author Steven Shapin explores how food and dining have shaped Western social identity. It's less a cookbook or  culinary history and more a deep dive into the cultural anthropology of eating. Shapin meticulously traces the evolution of the human diet and how it is reflected upon and promoted, from ancient symposiums to modern restaurant culture, demonstrating how these rituals have reflected and reinforced social hierarchies, notions of civility, and even scientific understanding. 

Shapin deftly analyzes how the concept of "taste," both literal and metaphorical, has served as a marker of social distinction. He highlights the history of various dining styles and the impact of technological advancements on our relationship with food. He emphasizes that eating is never merely a biological necessity, but a profoundly social act, imbued with meaning and symbolism. The evolution of the philosophy of the human diet from “You are what you eat” to the various strains of Keto, Atkins, and other fad diets gets reasonable, if technical, amounts of discussion. A bit more context about the technical side of this book, it can be a challenging read at times because of its academic-oriented writing style. While the book excels at analyzing the historical context of diets and eating, it occasionally can feel detached and very scientific.

Despite these minor drawbacks, Eating and Being is a valuable contribution to the study of food culture. It offers a thought-provoking and insightful perspective on how our eating habits have shaped, and continue to shape, our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. For those willing to engage with its intellectual demands, Shapin's book provides a rich and rewarding exploration of the social significance of food.

MY RATING: 4

Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World (Dorian Lynskey)

Dorian Lynskey’s Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World explores humanity's enduring fascination with the apocalypse. Lynskey writes about the various ways in which we have imagined the end of the world, from religious prophecies to zombies, and examines the cultural and historical contexts that have shaped these visions.

Lynskey’s book draws on a wide array of sources, from ancient myths to contemporary films. Lynskey also incorporates insights from history, philosophy, and psychology to provide a nuanced understanding of our apocalyptic anxieties. Lynskey’s writing style is engaging and the book is fast-paced and entertaining. He also peppers the text with interesting anecdotes and trivia, which adds to the book's overall appeal.

Everything Must Go is informative, providing valuable insights into our collective imagination of the end times and humanity’s demise. Those with an interest in history, culture, or science fiction will likely find it a rewarding and enjoyable read.

MY RATING: 5

The Celts: A Modern History (Ian Stewart)

In The Celts: A Modern History, author Ian Stewart explores the Celtic identity. Stewart traces the history of the Celts from their ancient origins to their present cultural and multinational identity comprising of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and France’s Brittany region. He examines how the Celts have been perceived and portrayed throughout history, focusing on how their identity has been shaped and reshaped by various cultural, political, and social forces.

The Celts explores a wide range of topics: language (and the significant levels of debate that went into identifying just what language family Celtic languages derived from), art, religion, and social structures. Stewart also examines the role of the Celts in various historical events, such as their interactions with the ancient Greeks, Romans, and their influence on the development of European culture. The Celts also provides significant insight into more modern Celtic identity movements, both at a national (i.e. Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) and international level with the Pan-Celtic movement to create a Celtic confederation in Western Europe.

Stewart's writing style is engaging and intellectual. The Celts is a scholarly historical read with tremendous research and insight, not a book you can quickly read through in a weekend. However, that research and insight yields a book that skillfully weaves together historical evidence, linguistic analysis, and cultural insights to create a rich and nuanced portrait of the Celts. The Celts is a valuable contribution to the field of Celtic studies.

MY RATING: 4.5

Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence (Claire Hubbard-Hall)

The British Secret Service Bureau was established in 1909. Over time, the agency evolved into two distinct groups that we know collectively as the MI5 and MI6. The British equivalent of America’s CIA is known for its counter-intelligence and surveillance. Think James Bond and you have a fictionalized idea of MI6 (and Ian Fleming did work in intelligence in World War I while serving in the Navy). 

It’s important to note that many women served Great Britain in valuable intelligence-gathering during the 20th Century. Claire Hubbard-Hall’s Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence amplifies the contributions of several British women who served their country in intelligence-gathering. It’s a powerful, fast-moving account of Margaret Priestley, Kathleen Pettigrew, Dorothy Henslowe, and others who provided valuable information on Bolshevik-era Communists, Nazi sympathizers, and others that the British had concerns about.

These women led double lives, providing valuable intelligence in one role while working as secretaries or in roles that were traditionally assigned to women in the early 20th century. Pettigrew, in particular, was an inspiration for Miss Moneypenny in the Bond novels. 

Hubbard-Hall’s book provides a great platform in telling the stories of these women beyond what Ian Fleming cooked up.

MY RATING: 4.5

The Name of This Band Is R.E.M. (Peter Ames Carlin)

R.E.M. was one of the bands I listened to a lot as a kid in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They were one of the first concerts that I attended as well. This iconic band from Georgia helped shape and enhance the alternative and indie music scene in America for over a decade, with their music helping influence countless other alternative bands in the 1990’s and beyond. 

Peter Ames Carlin’s The Name of This Band Is R.E.M. is a chronicle of the band’s development in Athens, GA in 1980 and their subsequent rise to stardom in the years that followed. As Carlin tells the band’s history, each of its members is also woven in with biographical background and stories of their evolution. R.E.M. arguably reached its peak in the early and mid 1990’s before Bill Berry’s departure in 1997. While the remaining members continued on for nearly 15 more years, the subsequent records the band put out failed to reach the heights of Automatic for the People and Green.

Carlin’s book is well-researched and entertaining. For fans of today’s indie rock scene, R.E.M. can be considered in many ways the forefather of helping indie break out of the college radio and underground scene and into mainstream rock. Whether or not fans of the band felt R.E.M. “sold out” to corporate music or not, their influence on rock music is still felt to this day.

MY RATING: 4.5

The Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice (Simon Parkin)

The siege of Leningrad during World War II resulted in the deaths of over 700,000 civilians from starvation and related food scarcity, not to mention the additional deaths of soldiers who fought the Nazis in defense of the modern-day city of St. Petersburg. Within the city stood an old palace that had been converted by scientists into a laboratory that housed the world’s largest collection of seeds. This collection was put together by a team of Soviet scientists under the direction of Nikolai Vavilov, who Stalin’s government considered a dissident because of his cooperation with other scientists in the West around crop research. Vavilov was taken into custody by the NKVD (predecessor to the KGB) early in World War II, which meant the scientists would be without their leader as the Nazi siege started up in 1941.

Simon Parkin’s The Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice is a gripping tale of the perseverance and dedication of these scientists to safeguard these seedlings during the siege and to ensure the collection could survive potential theft, destruction, and one of the harshest winters on record. The story of these scientists parallels what the city went through, often in graphic detail, over the winter of 1941-42 and in the balance of World War II.

The Forbidden Garden is arguably one of the best books I have read in the past year. It read very quickly and kept this reviewer captivated and wanting to turn the page. It’s a great tribute to the dedication of scientists to continue their research and ensure they do everything they can to keep their seed collection intact and to survive the war.

MY RATING: 5

The Power and the Glory: Life in the English Country House Before the Great War (Adrian Tinniswood)

In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, an influx of wealth infused much of the West. In America, we refer to it as the Gilded Age. In Britain, new money found its way into the life of genteel country nobility, who built and renovated homes and estates in the rural countryside. The Power and the Glory: Life in the English Country House Before the Great War is Adiran Tinniswood’s account of life in the English “country house” during the peak of the British Empire’s influence and control.

The period of time that Tinniswood focuses on ranges roughly from 1860 to 1920, showcasing the changing norms of high society due in large part to the influx of wealth that worked its way out of the noble class and into unexpected sources (such as burlesque entertainers, guano dealers, and foreign resources). Change happened fast for the era, whether it be modern technology such as indoor plumbing and electricity, or social norms such as divorce and remarriage outside of the blessing of the Church of England. The Power and the Glory showcases how much British life changed and how those in the 1% of the era adapted.

Tinniswood’s book reads as part gossip column for the era and part history of English affluence and exuberance during the British Empire’s peak. The Power and the Glory was an entertaining and informative read, well worth your time if you’re a fan of Downton Abbey or similar shows.

MY RATING: 4.5