Food and Drink

Did you visit the Food Culture USA section of the Smithsonian's Festival of American Folklife? We have the perfect accompaniment, the award-winning and new Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. You cannot check it out, it is in reference. But it is meant to be read and browsed and - of course - savored. Much of the good new reference work is meant as much for the delight of the casual reader as for answering specific questions.

This new title complements the three volume Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, but there seems to be almost no overlap in content. Both are worth sitting down and reading. Recipes? - no, not many. You can find those in our large circulating collection of cookery books. But for the history of food and the culture of food, go to these two titles.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink won a number of awards: 2005 RUSA Oustanding Reference Source, ALA Outstanding Reference Source, Booklist Editor's Choice for Best Reference, Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winner for "The Best Wine Literature Book in English" Library Journal Best Reference; and 2005 James Beard Award nominee.

The Encyclopedia of Food and Culture won the 2004 Dartmouth medal, the equivalent of the Oscar for reference books.