Tag Archives: history

Madeleine Pelner Cosman’s Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony

Michelle Erica Green wrote this review. Partly a history of medieval cooking, partly an illustrated guide to the harvesting and processing of food and partly a recipe book, Fabulous Feasts offers – well, to borrow an anachronism, a smorgasbord of … Continue reading

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Hugh Kennedy’s When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World, and Justin Marozzi’s Tamerlane

Da Capo Press has been a member of the Perseus Book Group since 1999. World history is one of its specialty lines and probably the category in which I would place both of these titles. At least in my experience … Continue reading

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Andrew Dalby’s Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices

Faith J. Cormier wrote this review. Heaven forbid I should ever judge a book by its title, but this one certainly can be. In Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices, Andrew Dalby does exactly what the title says he is … Continue reading

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Mark Lewisohn’s Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years, Vol. 1

So who can keep up with all the books about The Beatles? Not me, obviously. I’ve been a fan since Beatlemania first broke on these American shores in early 1964, and in my life probably the only thing I’ve done … Continue reading

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Chicago’s Field Museum of Natura History: Inside Ancient Egypt

As we traverse Stanley Field Hall, the central main-floor atrium of the Field Museum of Natural History, we notice off in the southwest corner, behind a row of arches, what looks to be an ancient Egyptian mastaba. Well, close — … Continue reading

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Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman, eds.’ Wobblies! A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World

A number of years ago I read and greatly enjoyed John Dos Passos’ USA Trilogy. In his jazzy, frenetic narrative style, Dos Passos provides a glimpse into the lives of several fictitious and as many real people who lived and … Continue reading

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Merritt Ruhlen’s The Origin of Language: Tracing the Evolution of the Mother Tongue

Being the purist that I am, I wince when people talk about the evolution of this, the evolution of that – evolution has nothing to do with automobile design or cell phones or political systems. It is, however, a legitimate … Continue reading

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Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light

Just as her protagonist Thomas Cromwell set himself a near impossible task in attempting to steer the mercurial temperament of Henry VIII, Hilary Mantel set herself a near impossible task in following the first two masterful volumes of this story. … Continue reading

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William E. Deal’s Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan

If the title sounds daunting, don’t be worried. William E. Diehl’s Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan is a well-organized and eminently usable reference to the history, arts, and customs of Japan from 1185, the beginning of … Continue reading

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Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History: The Ancient Americas

When I offered to take my cousin to the Field Museum, showing off my new membership, and suggested that we see the permanent exhibition “The Ancient Americas,” she said, “What’s that?” “Indians,” I said, “from Day One.” She said later … Continue reading

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