Best Thing I Ever Tasted: The Secret of Food

Average customer rating:

Not my cup of tea....

Not a Perfect Book, But Some Close Moments

Velveeta and Tofu

A delicious book!

More questions than answers

Best Thing I Ever Tasted: The Secret of Food
Sallie Tisdale
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
History | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

ASIN: 1573228532

Amazon.com

Sallie Tisdale explores her relationship to food in The Best Thing I Ever Tasted, never once leaving the reader out of the process. It may be her mother she writes about, struggling to get food on the table for three kids and a husband while also holding down a job, but everyone's mother lurks in the shadows just behind. To say The Best Thing I Ever Tasted is a book about food, however, is to miss the point. Food is simply the center of the vortex, the point from which Tisdale embarks on a journey of remembering and setting the forks straight on the table.

What is it to be a housewife in a Betty Crocker world? And what is a housewife, anyway? What is her work? Tisdale noodles around on these avenues, meandering through the past couple hundred years of American and European history, taking special note of the rise of "time-saving" refinements in life--the way vacuum cleaners and dishwashers and microwave ovens are often sold in terms of the time they will save the housewife, too often overlooking the fact that she is at work. Convenience is another theme--what are we giving away simply to have convenient food? And consistency is another--the consistency of experience in a chain of restaurants that keeps satisfied customers coming back for what amounts to no real experience to begin with.

There's a lot of history in here, like how white sugar and white flour were sold to the public as good, its immediate predecessor as bad. Tisdale lays bare the ways in which advertisers get the public to use products they don't really need and might not even want if they took the time to think about alternatives. She has read a lot of the primary texts on the subject (don't overlook the terrific bibliography) and has reassembled a lot of that basic information, adding her own unique insights and organizing principles. Much of The Best Thing I Ever Tasted reads like loosely assembled magazine essays masquerading as a cohesive book.

But the voice is there, the attitude, the Tisdale:

I try to buy fish from one of the few sustained fisheries left, and I look at the seafood counter and realize with a sinking feeling that most people don't care. Most people don't care where their food comes from, who grows, picks, catches, and prepares it. Life is hard; we can't track every unseen cost. We will eat the very last fish in the ocean. I know this. I believe this, and still I compromise. I buy time. I buy gratification. I rationalize. I deny. I turn away. I turn away.

You will find it difficult to turn away from Tisdale's ideas and explorations. As self-involved in bleak vision as she may become, she never leaves the reader's side. --Schuyler Ingle

Book Description

Eating is the most common way to celebrate in our culture, the most visible way to indulge ourselves. And yet few things have such power over our lives-it controls us as consumers, as social animals, as guilty creatures of appetite. Through a lively mixture of history, memoir, sociology and family recipe, Tisdale explores our public and private attitudes about food, drawing a rich portrait of the many forces behind our American appetite and demystifying the everyday miracle of eating.

Customer Reviews:

Not my cup of tea...........2006-10-26

Sallie Tisdale's The Best Thing I Ever Tasted: The Secret of Food is a collection of personal essays on Americans and their eating habits.

I enjoyed the earlier essays; it was interesting to read about the influence of the big corporations on what women buy and how they cook it, even in how we view our own roles in our familes. Who hasn't heard and smirked over 'Nothing says lovin' like somethin' from the oven'? And I'm old enough to remember when no one was smirking.

Her essays on the evils of fast food were interesting if not especially informative.

But when she got the to the section on Americans and diet and began blaming corporate America for our obession with diet, I was ready to talk back. Her conclusion seem to be that since the advertising world was pushing thin, that it's okay to eat whatever. Sallie, I have no plans to grace the cover of Vogue but health is a motivating factor in my diet. Convince my doctor that I need to gain 10 pounds and I will.

Too much personal opinion and too little objectivity.

Not a Perfect Book, But Some Close Moments.......2004-04-15

This is the first book I have read by Tisdale, but it will not be the last. Despite flaws, Tisdale's book contains passages, sentences, that stopped me dead because they were profound insights. In her introduction, she captured a moment of small despair and ennui -- the kind of moment that haunts you from childhood -- and identified its context and revealed at least one meaning. This is rare. I was happy to continue to find similar gems throughout the book.

As to the harsher critics' comments: I agree that the book would benefit from another edit, but that is not a fatal flaw. I agree that this is much more of a group of essays than one cohesive work; however, I think that this is a rather doctrinaire criticism, and the structure of loosely related essays was not at all troubling to me. I agree that Tisdale leaves the reader with questions rather than answers. I'm not quite sure why that is a problem -- I welcome writers (artists, actors, philosophers, etc.) who are willing to shed light on the shades of grey, rather than explain to us why their "black" is preferable to someone else's "white." I tend to think of such work as provocative and demanding. I also tend to think that it is a rather appropriate tone to take with the subject -- perhaps it's not as easy to recognize and appreciate as a Happy Meal, and perhaps that's part of the point. It is a somewhat academic book -- but it's readable and approachable. For example, I think Tisdale likely has, through this book, instilled core theories of semiology in people who would otherwise never encounter them, and she does so gently, in plain English, long before she ever mentions the name of Roland Barthes.

Perfection is far too much to ask of anyone. This is a lovely book, provocative and interesting, in which the writer avoids self-indulgence, whining, proselytizing, or placing herself beyond reproach.

Velveeta and Tofu.......2003-12-11

Tisdale covers a lot of ground about the meaning of food. She touches on history, such as the first appearances of plates and utensils. But this is mostly about modern food history, specifically Tisdale's history, and by extension, our own.

Tisdale reminisces about the meals she had growing up, meat at every meal, recipes from the Betty Crocker Cookbook and Peg Bracken's I Hate to Cook Book. She contrasts that with the food in her life now, as a Buddhist, organic, small-is-better, locally grown sort of person. On a whim, she makes her macrobiotic daughter a grilled Velveeta and white bread sandwich and is not really surprised when her daughter loves it.

Tisdale discusses fast food (she still makes the occasional, disappointing, trip to McDonald's), eating out, dieting, and supermarkets. In a particularly interesting chapter, she ruminates on what makes Martha Stewart tick, and marvels at the way Martha kept correcting Julia Child on a TV appearance together.

Many of the chapters in this book first appeared as magazine articles, and I look forward to more articles and books by Tisdale about food.

A delicious book!.......2003-11-03

Like another reviewer here, I, too, first read the book and then the reviews. I was surprised to see that the book had only a three and one-half star average, as I found it to be a really thoughtful discussion of how we feel and think about food--a five-star read! Tisdale gives some really good historical insight into the evolution of our food culture and ideas. But, best of all for me, it was one of those books that had the ring of truth with my own psychological, physical, and emotional experiences of eating. Too often food writers come off as uppity and pretentious, even when they are trying hard not to be. Sallie Tisdale quite naturally does NOT have this problem. Like good food, Tisdale's writing is just rich enough to be delicious. Maybe it helps to be middle-aged and to have had some of the same eating experiences growing up as Tisdale had, and, maybe it's like another reviewer says--a person either loves or hates this book. (Another of my favorite books/authors is like that--people seem to love or hate Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's HIDDEN LIVES OF DOGS.)
Anyway, I really love Tisdale's writing style, so much so that I found myself reading aloud from this book last night to my husband, who thoroughly enjoyed the chapter I shared with him.
THE BEST THING I EVER TASTED is yummy!

More questions than answers.......2003-04-03

Sallie Tisdale starts off well, but never manages to answer the many questions she poses about food. In the end the book reads as an extended whinge. The introduction is basically the book, the rest is too often just extended repetition. The bibliography is especially light on credible historical sources,yet the history of food is often her subject. After a short time, Tisdale's glib assumption that she,her family,and her attitudes to food are the norm for all Americans passes from being ridiculous to being insulting. There are better books on the subject, notably "Fast Food Nation" and "The Primal Feast."

The Best Thing I Ever Tasted; the Secret of Food

Average customer rating:

A foodie on food

The Best Thing I Ever Tasted; the Secret of Food
Sallie Tisdale
Manufacturer: RiverHead Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0965033562

Customer Reviews:

A foodie on food.......2007-08-14

This books gives a great insight into why we all feel warm and fuzzy for certain foods. It is not always genetics, friends, or education of a food. We can again thank corporate America for our love of Wonder Bread and Betty Crocker. Sallie Tisdale really does a good job describing our love of food and the history of that love. A real page turner.

The Best Thing I'Ve Ever Tasted: The Secret of Food

Average customer rating:

The Best Thing I'Ve Ever Tasted: The Secret of Food
Sallie Tisdale
Manufacturer: Riverhead Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LZECEY

Book Description

The "lure bible" is back and better than ever! This mammoth guide, now with 2,500 full-color photos, delivers all the pricing, details and lure advice serious collectors want, from a name they trust and admire.

This 7th edition features more than 5,000 listings, complete with collecting data and updated prices for everything from the Plunking Dinger to the Creek Chub Mouse. Collectible lures from Heddon, South Bend, Paw Paw, Pflueger, Creek Chub, Shakespeare and more are featured in this trusted reference. The familiar style of the late Carl Luckey and Clyde "The Bassman" Harbin Sr. is carried on by the next generation with Tim Watts, Harbin's grandson, serving as contributing editor. With the last three editions of this book boasting a combined 86,500 copies sold, this new edition continues the tradition lure enthusiasts have come to trust.

-5,000 different lures listed

-2,500 full-color photos for easy identification

-Contains lures from leading North American lure manufacturers

Customer Reviews:

good book.......2007-09-23

i have started to collect lures and this book has been very helpful good book great shiping fast service

Disappointed!.......2007-05-26

We have a previous edition and wanted to update. This edition does not have anything but lures, no reels!

Collector's Guide to Antique Fishing Tackle

Average customer rating:

Antique Fishing Tackle: Attractive coffee table reading

Collector's Guide to Antique Fishing Tackle
Silvio Calabi
Manufacturer: Wellfleet Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1555215254

Customer Reviews:

Antique Fishing Tackle: Attractive coffee table reading.......2001-05-15

First, this is a larger 9 3/4" x 12 1/2" coffee table size book with 222 pages including many color plate pics of vintage fishing tackle including rods, reels, lures, reels, decoys and other related fishing equipment from the 1800's to 1950's and somewhat later. Very nice color pictures, and good explanations. Not a value guide but a fairly comprehensive look at vintage fishing tackle. A very well price value comparatively.

Old Fishing Lures & Tackle: Identification and Value Guide (Old Fishing Lures and Tackle)

Average customer rating:

Great for Information
EXCELLENT AND WELL DONE
glad we picked this on
GREAT REFERENCE BUT POOR CONSTRUCTION
START HERE

Old Fishing Lures & Tackle: Identification and Value Guide (Old Fishing Lures and Tackle)
Carl F. Luckey , and Clyde A. Harbin
Manufacturer: Krause Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0873494296

Customer Reviews:

Great for Information.......2005-09-26

As a lure collector, I have several identification guides.
This book gets used more than the rest, simply because it is more an identification guide than a Value guide. (Sure, it has book value included(which means nothing compared to auction values), but, it also has way more information on the lures and companies themselves than most other ID books).
If you are looking for a complete library (if you want almost any lure identification at your fingertips--or in your head , as you learn about them all--), then you should definately include this one.
But (always a "but"), this book doesn't cover too many of the "small name" companies out there, or folk arts, nor many flies. But, if it's a top name company (Heddon, Creek Chub, South Bend, Shakespeare, etc.), you will find it in this book, up until 1975.
You cannot go wrong with this book...and if mine ever wears away with use, I'll keep purchasing new copies as needed.

EXCELLENT AND WELL DONE.......2005-02-21

This is one of the better guides. I really could not do business without it. You certainly will not be wasting your money on this one. Highly recommed it for the collector, dealer and those just interested.

glad we picked this on.......2003-09-10

my husband received an old tackle box full of lures from a friend who just did not want it any more. we knew there were some from the early 20's to 40's,other than that we knew nothing about them. we found several books we thought might help us. we had a tough time deciding between this one and several others on amazon. at the last min we decided to get this one and are we glad. has wonderful history, easy to use index. it is a wealth of information. we have identified dozens of tackle. this book is HIGHLY recommended if you have alot of old lures.

GREAT REFERENCE BUT POOR CONSTRUCTION.......2002-01-25

HAVE HAD LOTS OF LUCK FINDING GRANDPA'S LURES AND WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO THOSE WISHING TO IDENTIFY OLD LURES. MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS THAT PAGES HAVE BEGAN TO FALL OUT OF THE BOOK CREATING A BIT OF A MESS.

START HERE.......2001-01-21

THIS BOOK WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL. FOUND GRANDAD'S TACKLE BOXES FROM THE 50'S. THIS BOOK ALLOWED ME TO IDENTIFY 98 OUT OF 139 TOTAL LURES, FLIES, AND OTHER ITEMS. (HIS PEACH PIT AND BANDAID WERE NOT LISTED.) THIS BOOK HAS STARTED A HOBBY WHICH I HOPE TO PASS DOWN TO MY CHILDREN. COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THIS MASSIVE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE! THANKS C.F. LUCKEY AND AMAZON.COM!

Classic & Antique Fly-Fishing Tackle: A Guide for Collectors & Anglers

Average customer rating:

Entertaining and useful book with some limitations
A Real Treasure for any Fly Fisherman or Collector of Tackle

Classic & Antique Fly-Fishing Tackle: A Guide for Collectors & Anglers
A.J. Campbell
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Sports Memorabilia (besides cards) | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1585744859

Book Description

A lushly illustrated, in-depth collectors' survey of a century of antique fly-fishing tackle from the 1860s to the 1960s.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining and useful book with some limitations.......2001-08-18

While the book generally does an outstanding job of deftly balancing good resarch and an entertaining style, it stumbles badly when west of the Mississippi. What happened to (at the least) Winston, or Powell? Neither one is in the index, and I could not find them in the text. The eastern U.S. bias is quite clear.

A Real Treasure for any Fly Fisherman or Collector of Tackle.......2000-02-02

This is by far the best book that I have read and read and re-read on fly fishing tackle. The history of early bamboo fly rod makers is extraordinary, very informative and extremely interesting. If you are interested in fly fishing rods and reels, this book is well worth the price. This is a large book with lots of information on rods, reels, collecting, tackle manufacturing, tackle value, etc. etc. the list goes on. You won't be disappointed!

Spring-loaded Fish Hooks, Traps & Lures: Identification and Value Guide (Identification & Values (Collector Books))

Average customer rating:

We are extremely impressed!

Spring-loaded Fish Hooks, Traps & Lures: Identification and Value Guide (Identification & Values (Collector Books))
William Blauser , and Timothy Mierzwa
Manufacturer: Collector Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Classic Fishing Lures

ASIN: 1574324705

Book Description

This is an exciting new guide to a never-before-documented field of antique fishing collectibles. It includes hundreds of color photos (many items are shown actual size), patent drawings, and clear, precise computer scans of patented spring-loaded traps, hooks, and lures, most of which have never been pictured, discussed, or valued in any book. These ingenious American inventions span the time period from pre-Civil War until the 1970s, with values ranging from $10.00 to $10,000.00. The book provides a written and visual history of spring-loaded fishing devices along with descriptions and explanations of their mechanisms in concise, easy-to-understand language that the beginning, intermediate, and advanced collector has not had access to in any book. This long-awaited book on Americana collectibles sets a new standard in the field of collecting antique fishing memorabilia. Written by the countrys two foremost collectors and experts in the field, this informative, fascinating book is a must for anyone interested in the history of fishing in the United States, antique fishing memorabilia, or metal traps.

Customer Reviews:

We are extremely impressed!.......2005-11-26

My husband and I know one of the authors, Tim Mierzwa, personally. He told us in August of 2005 that he had a book coming out about fishing lures and other equipment. We weren't sure what to think. But when we received the book recently, my
husband and I were extremely impressed on the detail, the photos, explanations and layout of the book! My husband enjoys
fishing and I don't, but BOTH of us are enjoying the book
immensely! I am now ordering another copy for the outdoor club
we live in to share with the members. For anyone interested in
fishing, collecting fishing gear and/or the history and value of fishing gear, this is THE book to own!

Captain John's Fishing Tackle Price Guide

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Captain John's Fishing Tackle Price Guide
John A. Kolbeck , and Russell E. Lewis
Manufacturer: Collector Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Sports Memorabilia (besides cards) | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1574324853

Book Description

John A. Kolbeck, a.k.a. capt.john, has been in the online fishing business for over 10 years and has sold over 30,000 items on the Internet. Captain John still spends up to 70 hours each week online buying and selling. His diligent record keeping has produced an amazing database of items and their actual selling prices that he has compiled into this handy reference guide. The guide contains results of online auctions, live auctions, and sales from lists and at shows. Each listing in the book contains the name, model, description, maker, condition, selling price, and date of sale. Selling prices are real, not the Captains opinion! There are over 15,000 listings, of which over 10,000 are lures. There are also rods, reels, tackle boxes, catalogs and vintage advertisements, and over 1,000 miscellaneous items. All this data in one easy-to-use guide allows readers to see sales trends and compare lure makes, models, and conditions. Representative photographs of each category are also provided. Dates of actual selling transactions along with precise selling prices make this book an invaluable tool for fishing collectors.

the collector's guide to antique fishing tackle

Average customer rating:

the collector's guide to antique fishing tackle
calabi silvio
Manufacturer: the wellfleet press copyright ist Edit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MMTK98

Firearms and Tackle Memorabilia: A Collector's Guide

Average customer rating:

Firearms and Tackle Memorabilia: A Collector's Guide
John Delph
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Firearms & Weapons | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Among the most beautifully executed and highly collectible advertising art is that related to firearms and fishing tackle. Companies like Winchester, Remington, Colt, Dupont, Marlin, Bristol and many others took great care and went to great expense to promote their products. Among the artists engaged to create the images were N.C. Wyeth, E. Osthaus, A.B. Frost, Remington, and A. Russell. This beautiful new book, in full color, captures the power of these images in a way that has never been done in book form before. Designed for the enthusiasts and collector, it has gives the information in a concise, accurate way and has a value guide. Anyone who looks through the pages of Firearms and Tackle Memorabilia will appreciate the beauty of the art. Included are signs and posters, calendars, trade cards, boxes, envelopes, and other highly sought after memorabilia gathered from auction houses, dealers, and private collections around the country.

Old Fishing Lures and Tackle: An Identification and Value Guide (Old Fishing Lures & Tackle)

Average customer rating:

A good introduction to lures for the new collector.
Great for the beginner

Old Fishing Lures and Tackle: An Identification and Value Guide (Old Fishing Lures & Tackle)
Carl F. Luckey
Manufacturer: Books Americana
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Transportation | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Sports Memorabilia (besides cards) | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0896891178

Customer Reviews:

A good introduction to lures for the new collector........1998-12-12

I've learned a lot about old fishing lures by browsing through this book. It is well worth it. I rated it four stars because some of the black and white pictures are not clear, and descriptions were a little too brief, although this could be because that's all the author had available to him. If you're new to collecting this is a great starter book.

Great for the beginner.......1998-09-23

I think that this book is great for someone just beginning lure collecting. It is very easy to use and understand.

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