People And Potatoes

Almost no one knew what a potato was in 1500. Today they are the world's fourth most important food. How did this happen?

The potato--humble, lumpy, bland, familiar--is a decidedly unglamorous staple of the dinner table. Or is it? John Reader's narrative on the role of the potato in world history suggests we may be underestimating this remarkable tuber. From domestication in Peru 8,000 years ago to its status today as the world's fourth largest food crop, the potato has played a starring--or at least supporting--role in many chapters of human history. In this witty and engaging book, Reader opens our eyes to the power of the potato. Whether embraced as the solution to hunger or wielded as a weapon of exploitation, blamed for famine and death or recognized for spurring progress, the potato has often changed the course of human events. Reader focuses on sixteenth-century South America, where the indigenous potato enabled Spanish conquerors to feed thousands of conscripted native people; eighteenth-century Europe, where the nutrition-packed potato brought about a population explosion; and today's global world, where the potato is an essential food source but also the world's most chemically-dependent crop. Where potatoes have been adopted as a staple food, social change has always followed. It may be "just" a humble vegetable, John Reader shows, yet the history of the potato has been anything but dull.

Photojournalist Reader (Africa: A Biography of the Continent) traces the humble potato from its roots in the Peruvian Andes to J.R. Simplot's multibillion-dollar-a-year French fry business. Despite its predilection to disease, the potato is a highly adaptable, high-yield, and nutrient-packed foodstuff. While this title focuses primarily on the potato's presence in South America and Europe, it also touches on Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and China-currently the world's largest producer and consumer of potatoes. Verdict: Curiously little attention is paid to the tuber's contributions to the culinary and beverage landscape; the UK subtitle of this work, "The Potato in World History," provides a more accurate description of the focus of the text.

The People's Potato are a Canadian Food Not Bombs type project, started in a church to feed the hungry masses. They're political, for sure. And they lay out someof that food politics in this cookbook. Plus the essentials of stocking a vegan kitchen, and different ways to cook. They can also cook! Boy can they cook. 'Free' food doesn't have to be tasteless. And it can be nutritious, and vegan. Here's how. With recipies for breakfasts; sprouts, salads & dressings; sauces & dips; soups; entrees; snacks; teas and hot drinks; desserts; and meals for 300! Handily ringbound for ease of use. What a treat!

Sibert Award Winner: This true story of five years of starvation in Ireland is “a fascinating account of a terrible time” (Kirkus Reviews). In 1845, a disaster struck Ireland. Overnight, a mysterious blight attacked the potato crops, turning the potatoes black and destroying the only real food of nearly six million people. Over the next five years, the blight attacked again and again. These years are known today as the Great Irish Famine, a time when one million people died from starvation and disease and two million more fled their homeland. Black Potatoes is the compelling story of men, women, and children who defied landlords and searched empty fields for scraps of harvested vegetables and edible weeds to eat, who walked several miles each day to hard-labor jobs for meager wages and to reach soup kitchens, and who committed crimes just to be sent to jail, where they were assured of a meal. It’s the story of children and adults who suffered from starvation, disease, and the loss of family and friends, as well as those who died. Illustrated with black and white engravings, it’s also the story of the heroes among the Irish people and how they held on to hope. “Bartoletti humanizes the big events by bringing the reader up close to the lives of ordinary people.”—Booklist (starred review)

Reset your tastebuds, lose weight without going hungry, improve your relationship with food and curb your cravings - all while eating potatoes! All recipes are vegan, nut free, legume free, oil free, soy free, grain free and gluten free. * 35+ slimming & filling potato recipes* 15 fat free sauce recipes* Batch cooking guide to save time* How to make homemade spice blends* Sauce & spice shopping guide* 7 day meal plan & grocery list* Tips for success on The Potato Reset* Kitchen tools guide* Fun illustrations of potato & veggie cuts* Lazy-cook approved & beginner friendly

Every Friday, Jack spends the day with his Grandma. They romp roly-poly on the ground, they read stories and they eat cake. Then, one cold and rainy Friday, they make the potato people . . .