Flandrin, Jean-Louis :

Jean-Louis Flandrin is Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris VIII--Vincennes, Directeur d'�tudes at the �cole des Hautes �tudes en Sciences Sociales and founder of the international review .
Massimo Montanari is Professor at the University of Bologna, specializing in food of the Middle Ages.

Sonnenfeld, Albert :

Albert Sonnenfeld is Chevalier Professor of French and Comparative Literatures at the University of Southern California and is a longtime member of the National Board of Directors of the American Institute of Wine and Food.

"Now that gastronomy and the culinary arts in general are finally being accepted as legitimate academic subjects, it is time we had available to us a copious and worthy sourcebook.... Food ...is exactly what we have needed."

--Julia Child

"Food excels in its thoroughness, its epic sweep, and its rootedness in culinary tradition ...it's also a pleasure."

--Salon.com

Submitted by the Publisher, June, 2003

At what point in history did people start serving meals at regular hours? Would we still be eating communally today if the Black Plague hadn't forced diners to eat at a safe distance from each other? What's the real story behind the origin of pasta? These are just a few of the tantalizing questions that are answered in this fascinating history of food from prehistoric times to the present. This comprehensive work explores the culinary evolution of cultures ranging from Mesopotamia to modern America, and explores every aspect of food history, from the dietary rules of the ancient Hebrews to the contributions of Arab cookery. Written by leading world authorities, this volume gives a unique perspective on the social and cultural mores of humankind through the ages, offering cooks, culinary scholars, and food lovers a banquet of information on which to feast.

Preface - Albert Sonnenfeld
Introduction to the Original Edition - Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari

Part One: Prehistory and Early Civilizations
Introduction: The Humanization of Eating Behaviors - Jean-Louis Flandrin
Chapter 1: Feeding Strategies in Prehistoric Times - Catherine Perlès
Chapter 2: The Social Function of Banquets in the Earliest Civilizations - Francis Joannes
Chapter 3: Food Culture in Ancient Egypt - Edda Bresciani
Chapter 4: Biblical Reasons: The Dietary Rules of the Ancient Hebrews - Jean Soler
Chapter 5: The Phoenicians and the Carthaginians: The Early Mediterranean Diet - Antonella Spanò Giammellaro

Part Two: The Classical World
Introduction: Food Systems and Models of Civilization - Massimo Montanari
Chapter 6: Urban and Rural Diets in Greece - Marie-Claire Amouretti
Chapter 7: Greek Meals: A Civic Ritual - Pauline Schmitt-Pantel
Chapter 8: The Culture of the Symposium - Massimo Vetta
Chapter 9: The Diet of the Etruscans - Giuseppe Sassatelli
Chapter 10: The Grammar of Roman Dining - Florence Dupont
Chapter 11: The Broad Bean and the Moray: Social Hierarchies and Food in Rome - Mireille Corbier
Chapter 12: Diet and Medicine in the Ancient World - Innocenzo Mazzini
Chapter 13: The Food of Others - Oddone Longo

Part Three: From the Late Classical Period to the Early Middle Ages (5th-10th Centuries)
Introduction: Romans, Barbarians, Christians: The Dawn of European Food Culture - Massimo Montanari
Chapter 14: Production Structures and Food Systems in the Early Middle Ages - Massimo Montanari
Chapter 15: Peasants, Warriors, Priests: Images of Society and Styles of Diet - Massimo Montanari

Part Four: Westerners and Others
Introduction: Food Models and Cultural Identity - Massimo Montanari
Chapter 16: Christians of the East: Rules and Realities of the Byzantine Diet - Ewald Kislinger
Chapter 17: Arab Cuisine and Its Contribution to European Culture - Bernard Rosenberger
Chapter 18: Mediterranean Jewish Diet and Traditions in the Middle Ages - Miguel-Angel Motis Dolader

Part Five: The Late Middle Ages (11th-14th Centuries)
Introduction: Toward a New Dietary Balance - Massimo Montanari
Chapter 19: Society, Food, and Feudalism - Antoni Riera-Melis
Chapter 20: Self-Sufficiency and the Market: Rural and Urban Diet in the Middle Ages - Alfio Cortonesi
Chapter 21: Food Trades - Françoise Desportes
Chapter 22: The Origins of Public Hostelries in Europe - Hans Conrad Peyer
Chapter 23: Medieval Cooking - Bruno Laurioux
Chapter 24: Food and Social Classes in Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy - Allen J. Grieco
Chapter 25: Seasoning, cooking, and Dietetics in the Late Middle Ages - Jean-Louis Flandrin
Chapter 26: "Mind Your Manners": Etiquette at the Table - Daniela Romagnoli
Chapter 27: From Hearth to Table: Late Medieval Cooking Equipment - Françoise Piponnier

Part Six: The Europe of Nation-States (15th-18th Centuries)
Introduction: The Early Modern Period - Jean-Louis Flandrin