A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce (eBook)

A surprisingly wide-ranging journey into the story of this beloved dish and "e;an utterly fascinating discourse on food history"e; (The Daily Beast).Intellectually engaging and deliciously readable, this is a stereotype-defying history of how one of the most recognizable symbols of Italian cuisine and national identity is the product of centuries of encounters, dialogue, and exchange.Is it possible to identify a starting point in history from which everything else unfolds-a single moment that can explain the present and reveal the essence of who we are? According to Massimo Montanari, this is just a myth. Historical phenomena can only be understood dynamically-by looking at how events and identities develop and change as a result of encounters and combinations that are often unexpected.As he shows in this lively, brilliant, and surprising essay, finding the origin of spaghetti-or anything else-is not as simple as it may seem. By tracing the history of the one of Italy's "e;national dishes"e; -from Asia to America, from Africa to Europe; from the beginning of agriculture to the Middle Ages and up to the twentieth century-he reveals that in order to understand our own identity, we almost always need to look beyond ourselves to other cultures, peoples, and traditions."e;Montanari's research will delight readers and provide plenty of fodder for dinner-table discussion."e; -Booklist"e;Full of delicious details."e; -Publishers Weekly