Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World's Food Plants [B1445]

2008 HCDJ, 10x8-inches with 360-glossy, colorful pages, in excellent condition. A natural choice for the millions of people turning to a healthier lifestyle, this book invites readers on a sumptuously illustrated walk through the world garden to discover the story of some 250 food plants from field to table. Illustrated with more than 500 images and written by top international horticultural and culinary experts, the sumptuous Edible explores the origins, history, and contemporary cultural and culinary uses of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, beverage plants, herbs, and spices. A rich introduction begins the book, revealing early agriculture and our "green" future. Then an eight-chapter "Food Directory" cameos individual plants, with reader friendly layouts framing each entry's biography, botanical description, culinary role, and healing powers. In addition to the lively and authoritative narrative, Edible intrigues readers with layers of information: literary quotes, boxes on ancient origins of exotic foods, political underpinnings, nutritional values, longstanding remedies, and more. Tantalizing anecdotes dip into such diverse topics as the Japanese Cherry Festival; cacao, Mayan "food of the gods;" and the 17th-century Nutmeg Wars, which determined New York's future. A glossary and index complete the book. Note: No recipes.

From recent-ish GoodReads/Amazon reviews: "The first section, on fruits, was awesome. The foreword was good too, very good--all the info about agriculture, the Fertile Crescent, the Americas...darn. Just writing this makes me want to go re-read it. Nothing 'big' that I didn't already know, but a beautiful fairy tale for a dedicated gardener."; "Fantastic book! Covers vegetables and fruit, both the utterly familiar and the completely unknown. Most entries have at least one photo, some have more, a few have none. Great photos though, as can be expected from National Geographic. Grouped into fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, herbs, spices, plants used in beverages, plant sugars and other products. Includes where it's from, where it's currently grown, how it's used. Other information includes history. Highly Recommended."; "Since I started going vegan nearly a quarter century ago, my diet has become much more varied than it ever was previously. But I was astounded by how many edible plants are in this book that were completely unfamiliar to me. Tons of them! I love food and I love reading about food. I love the history of food too. So, this book was just my cup of tea."