White Bread
by Aaron Bobrow-Strain
A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf
- Percentage of approved critics who have given this book a positive review.
Critic Rating
50%
Critic Reviews: 8
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- User rating from iDreamBooks & iTunes
Reader Rating
74%
Reader Ratings: 9
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Synopsis
How did white bread, once an icon of American progress, become "white trash"? In this lively history of bakers, dietary crusaders, and social reformers, Aaron Bobrow-Strain shows us that what we think about the humble, puffy loaf says a lot about who we are and what we want our society to look like. White Bread teaches us that when Americans debate what one should eat, they are also wrestling with larger questions of race, class, immigration, and gender. As... more
About Aaron Bobrow-Strain
- All Critics: 8
- Positive: 5
- Negative: 3
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Fantastic Food | 5 Mar 2012
It’s a fascinating look at the social history of our nation through bread.
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Food Politics | 22 Mar 2012
This is entertaining history and an example of food studies in action: using food to talk about important issues in history and contemporary society.
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Lesson Un Plan | 21 Mar 2012
For a carboloader like me or a carbophobe, a foodie or a sociologist, an industrialist or a communist or a feminist or a capitalist or any intersection thereof, or really anyone living in these bread-obsessed times, this is a worthwhile and smooth read.
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Flad Head Mama | 2 Feb 2012
After wading through it this past week, I have to say that this book comes across as a well-documented term paper, but as a literary work that ultimately fails to satisfy, engage or provide meaningful solutions to the problems it lays out.
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Riv Kat | 12 Mar 2012
but I could have used more science, since a big part of the story was taming yeast and making unpredictable bubbles etc. tractable and entirely uniform, which here appears as undifferentiated “technological advances” allowing a highly processed, sliceable and tasteless loaf.
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The Fresh loaf | 25 Feb 2012
White Bread is extremely thought-provoking.
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Smithsonian Mag | 7 Mar 2012
In American culture, bread is a status symbol, and the book provides a fascinating look at how store-bought white bread rose and fell in prominence.
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The New York Times | 29 Jun 2012
In “White Bread” all beliefs about bread stem from a dream. The word is used so frequently it loses meaning.
Full ReviewWhite Bread : A Social Histor...