Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America

I used this as part of the reading material for a Capstone Senior h.s. course on "The Role of Food in History". For the part of the course relevant to the syllabus, this was very useful. Students learned the background of some things they'd simply taken for granted before regarding why they eat what they eat in the US and in what form and how it has changed - or hasn't so much - in households since the 1950s..

This does seem like an interesting read. I’ve only flipped through it so far. I was disappointed that there are no pictures and it’s not a recipe book at all. I thought somewhere in somebody else’s reviews this was going to be more of like a cookbook with added tidbits of vintage information, but that’s not what this is.

Yes, I have to confess that this book is going to be of primary interest to women, male chefs too, but men in general would find that this work is, first and foremost, a HISTORY of cooking and food in 20th-Century America. It's a sort of an oblique and logical follow-up to Ms. Shapiro's "Perfection Salad" (another fine book!) and is well-researched and informative.Here, you'll read about food cooking trends as well as all the period heavy-hitters of the culinary world: James Beard, Julia Child, Poppy Cannon, MFK Fisher, and more. There's also a great little biography of Betty Crocker, a woman who actually never existed!There's little need for me to say more except that the book reads like a good novel and I found it fascinating. It's clearly a must-read for anyone who considers himself or herself a "chef," either professional or enthusiastic amateur.

I felt guilty giving any less than 3 stars, tho I can't say I enjoyed the book (it is an easy/quick read). It's not really about what I thought it would be about, that's not the fault of the book being advertised. Thought it would be mostly about food trends and how people ate in America through the decades. It's far less about that (tho that is in there, to a lesser degree). It's more of a social treastie on womens "place in the kitchen" through the years, and how it evolved by the food industry, and the introduction of convenience foods, to social pioneers like Julia Child and Poppy Cannon. it almost at times reads like a college doctorate on women's social issues and how they were reflected in the home and kitchen..

This book isn't just about cooking and food - it's as much about living (and mighty interesting living at that). I'm not a cook and just don't understand why some people become consumed with the various ways of food preparation. Don't get me wrong, I want my food to taste good, anyway.......I have had a fascination with another food writer, M.F.K. Fisher, because of her travel adventures not her cooking,and while googling Fisher came upon a reference to Shapiro who talks about her in this book so bought it from Amazon and couldn't put it down from the first paragraph. I know I didn't review this book but just had to put my 2 cents in. Shapiro really has a way with words!

Such a fun, informative read on the culinary landscape of the American housewife's kitchen in the 50s and 60s.... I so enjoyed the insight on the food trends, the food industry's burgeoning new convenience foods output, the housewives' attitudes on cooking and the moral responsibility they felt to feed their family. The trends in society that affected the American culinary experience. I can't wait to read this book again and again !

Very interesting and well written.

This book describes the way food manufacturers promoted their product "improvements" to attract women who cooked at home, but had neither the time nor the knowledge to use basic raw materials. It is very funny in a rather odd way, and I felt rather resentful at the way the industry manipulated their customers.

This book is quite superb as a work of (admittedly specialised) popular cultural history. The author has evidently done her research and the work maintains a coherent narrative without disintegrating into a collection of anecdotes. Her style is approachable, if at times slightly wordy, and the book is quite readable. Recommended for anyone with an interest in food culture, the history of the 1950s, Americana, even to some extent gender.

Arrived on time. As described - brand new. A really interesting look at how food has the capacity to shape a nation.

This book has been very well-researched and is well-written if at times rather verbose. But it kept my interest in the topic of Americana in the '50s and particularly eating and cooking patterns so it was well worth purchasing.

Dispelled a lot of myths about what happened during the postwar period.