Michael Pollan is the author of seven previous books, including Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, all of which were New York Times bestsellers. He's also the author of the audiobook Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World. A longtime contributor to the New York Times Magazine, he also teaches writing at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2010, TIME magazine named him one of the one hundred most influential people in the world.
"[A] rare, ranging breed of narrative that manages to do all...
It's nothing short of important, possibly life-altering, reading
for every living, breathing human being... In Pollan's
dexterous hands, we get the science, the history, the inspiration,
ultimately the recipe. What feels like all of it. It doesn't hurt
that he also happens to be very funny."
--Boston Globe "Because of the power of his prose and his
reasoning, Cooked may prove to be just as influential as Pollan's
seminal book, The Omnivore's Dilemma... The results are
fascinating, but the magic of Cooked lies not in its ability to
unlock the secrets of slow-roasting a whole hog or brewing beer...
No, what Pollan pulls off is even more impressive: He manages to
illuminate the wealth of connections that stem from our DIY time in
the kitchen."
--The Washington Post "As in The Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan is
never less than delightful, full of curiosity, insight, and good
humor. This is a book to be read, savored, and smudged with
spatterings of olive oil, wine, butter, and the sulfuric streaks of
chopped onion."
--Outside "The book's surplus of fascinating tidbits--about
everything from barbecue (which Pollan connects to ritual animal
sacrifice) to the mysterious workings of bread yeast -- makes it
a feast for intellectual omnivores." - Entertainment Weekly
"Through cooking, Pollan argues, we clear a space, allowing
ourselves not only to consider our sometimes troubled bond with
nature but to reestablish our ties to one another, and to become
makers instead of consumers. Cooked is a potently seductive
invitation to discover--or rediscover--our most primal connection
to the natural world." - Bookforum "Spurred by a number of
objectives--improving his family's general health, connecting with
his teenage son, and learning how people can reduce their
dependence on corporations, among others--Pollan (The Omnivore's
Dilemma; In Defense of Food) came to the realization that he'd be
able to accomplish all those goals and more if he spent more time
in his kitchen. He began cooking. Divided into four chapters based
on the four elements, Pollan eloquently explains how grilling with
fire, braising (water), baking bread (air), and fermented foods
(earth) have impacted our health and culture. ... Engaging and
enlightening reading."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "New York Times
best-selling author Pollan (The Botany of Desire; The Omnivore's
Dilemma) delivers a thoughtful meditation on cooking
that is both difficult to categorize and uniquely, inimitably
his... Intensely focused yet wide ranging, beautifully written,
thought provoking, and, yes, fun, Pollan's latest is not to be
missed by those interested in how, why, or what we cook and
eat."
--Library Journal (starred review) "Having described
what's wrong with American food in his best-selling The
Omnivore's Dilemma (2006), New York Times contributor
Pollan delivers a more optimistic but equally
fascinating account of how to do it right.... A
delightful chronicle of the education of a cook who steps back
frequently to extol the scientific and philosophical basis of this
deeply satisfying human activity."
--Kirkus (starred review) "Pollan's newest
treatise on how food reaches the world's tables delves into the
history of how humankind turns raw ingredients into palatable and
nutritious food. To bring some sense of order to this vast
subject, he resurrects classical categories of fire, water, air,
and earth... Four recipes accompany the text, and an extensive
bibliography offers much deeper exploration. Pollan's peerless
reputation as one of America's most compelling expositors of food
and human sustainability will boost demand."
--Booklist (starred review)
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