CHOICE CUTS

Gourmets and gourmands, in fact, anyone who eats, will enjoy these delectably read snippets from authors as varied as Herodotus, M.F.K. Fisher, and Cab Calloway. There are paeans to lobster, an article on bug eating, an Irving Berlin ditty on the automat, the requirements for a fifteenth-century Lenten feast for several hundred, a chapter on food and sex, and much, much more. Kurlansky’s brief intros are consistently illuminating, and the tone of each piece--discursive, snide, sensuous, opinionated--is clearly brought out. Recipes abound; it’s easy to sell cinnamon buns, but even the ones for tripe are made to sound interesting and appealing. Accents are spot-on. This audio can be consumed in small bites or swallowed whole. It’s a true feast for the ears. J.B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 05]