Reviews
Not only does Ferris pinpoint and chronicle evocative moments throughout the South's larger history, but she manages to eloquently express how this history shaped Southern cuisine and, to a greater extent, Southern identity." -- Oxford American, A monumental book, which examines the relationship between Southern culture and cuisine at watershed moments in the region's history." --Charleston Post and Courier, Not only does Ferris pinpoint and chronicle evocative moments throughout the South's larger history, but she manages to eloquently express how this history shaped southern cuisine and, to a greater extent, southern identity." -- Oxford American, Extensively researched, The Edible South takes a new perspective on the American region and its rich, tumultuous history.--A Saveur September 2014 Best Food and Drink Release, A weighty, well-researched study of what are nowadays called 'foodways.'" --Colman Andrews, The Wall Street Journal, Required reading of any serious student of the South and its foodways.-- Journal of Mississippi History, Of tremendous use, not only for historians of the South and food historians, who will welcome this spur to incorporate the sometimes neglected South in their own national accounts, but also as a sampler of sources and methodologies for food history.-- North Carolina Historical Review, Successfully describes the development of southern food and its social history.-- West Virginia History, Ferris uses the lens of food to step into a vast and complex search of southern history.-- Jackson Free Press, Show[s] that southern foodways is more than the food on the table. 'Food stands at the center of southern history and culture' (333), [Ferris] writes in her conclusion, and after reading this book, one would have to agree.-- 49th Parallel|9781469617688|, Ferris reveals a fraught culinary world that struck some as idyllic, pastoral, and bountiful, others as sumptuous and decadent, and still others as barbaric and repressive." -- JFR, "Ferris reveals a fraught culinary world that struck some as idyllic, pastoral, and bountiful, others as sumptuous and decadent, and still others as barbaric and repressive." -- Journal of Folklore Research, Demonstrates how power dynamics shaped Southern identity throughout its history and that food played a crucial part in its negotiation.-- Southern Historian|9781469617688|, Folklorists will find The Edible South useful and enlightening. . . . Will provide much 'food for thought.'-- Journal of American Folklore, Ferris has exhaustively traced the origins of southern cooking. . . . [She] delves into the South's most significant foods. . . [and] performs a particularly important job by painstakingly explaining just how slave culture and subsequent Jim Crow laws and segregation made southern cooking unique.-- Booklist, Demonstrates how power dynamics shaped Southern identity throughout its history and that food played a crucial part in its negotiation.-- Southern Historian, It's clear from Ferris' research, her scouring of diaries and documents, that other people see food too. Thanks to her research, their voices resonate and fill a historical context with personality and flavor.-- CHoW Line, "This is a landmark study, thoroughly researched, clearly conveyed, and packed with illustrations. Ferris provides scholars and general readers much to savor."-- American Historical Review, "In this colorful and well-researched history, [Ferris] shows persuasively how food has shaped and nourished Southern identity."-- Kirkus, Certain to become an indispensable reference tool for scholars of U.S. food studies and southern culture.-- Journal of Southern History, In this colorful and well-researched history, [Ferris] shows persuasively how food has shaped and nourished Southern identity.-- Kirkus, "Ferris has exhaustively traced the origins of southern cooking. . . . [She] delves into the South's most significant foods. . . [and] performs a particularly important job by painstakingly explaining just how slave culture and subsequent Jim Crow laws and segregation made southern cooking unique."-- Booklist, Well researched and integrates a wide array of food scholarship. . . . Excellent in convincing its readers of the importance of food in writing and understanding history.-- American Studies, Certain to become an indispensable reference tool for scholars of U.S. food studies and of southern culture.-- The Journal of Southern History, In the new and expanding field of food studies, [ The Edible South ] is a monumental book against which others shall be judged.-- Clarion-Ledger, Ferris reveals a fraught culinary world that struck some as idyllic, pastoral, and bountiful, others as sumptuous and decadent, and still others as barbaric and repressive." -- Journal of Folklore Research, Show[s] that southern foodways is more than the food on the table. 'Food stands at the center of southern history and culture' (333), [Ferris] writes in her conclusion, and after reading this book, one would have to agree.-- 49th Parallel, A lively, informative exploration of southern history . . . Belongs in all academic library collections.-- CHOICE, Profound in its recognition of the multiple ways in which food builds and separates a society, creating social boundaries, nutritional harms, and everyday routines.-- Folklore, This is a landmark study, thoroughly researched, clearly conveyed, and packed with illustrations. Ferris provides scholars and general readers much to savor." -- American Historical Review, For anyone wishing to pursue a study of the South through comestibles, [ The Edible South ] is probably the best place to start. . . . I implore you: Dig in!" -- Southern Register
