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Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America
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Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America Paperback - 2005

by Laura Shapiro

In this delightfully surprising history, Shapiro--author of the classic "Perfection Salad"--recounts the prepackaged dreams that bombarded American kitchens during the 50s.


Summary

In this captivating blend of culinary history and popular culture, the award-winning author of Perfection Salad shows us what happened when the food industry elbowed its way into the kitchen after World War II, brandishing canned hamburgers, frozen baked beans, and instant piecrusts. Big Business waged an all-out campaign to win the allegiance of American housewives, but most women were suspicious of the new foods—and the make-believe cooking they entailed. With sharp insight and good humor, Laura Shapiro shows how the ensuing battle helped shape the way we eat today, and how the clash in the kitchen reverberated elsewhere in the house as women struggled with marriage, work, and domesticity. This unconventional history overturns our notions about the ’50s and offers new thinking on some of its fascinating figures, including Poppy Cannon, Shirley Jackson, Julia Child, and Betty Friedan.

From the publisher

Award-winning writer Laura Shapiro was at Newsweek for more than fifteen years. The author of Perfection Salad, she has written for many other publications, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Granta, and Gourmet.

First line

TOWARD THE END of February 1954, James Beard was at work in his Greenwich Village kitchen doing what he most loved to do: cooking delicious meals.

Details

  • Title Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America
  • Author Laura Shapiro
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 306
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
  • Date 2005-03-29
  • Features Bibliography, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780143034919 / 014303491X
  • Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.2 in (19.30 x 12.95 x 3.05 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1950's
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Sex & Gender: Feminine
    • Topical: Family
  • Library of Congress subjects Nineteen fifties, Cooking, American - History - 20th century
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2003057152
  • Dewey Decimal Code 641.508

Media reviews

Shapiro's research was exhaustive, but she feeds it to her readers in palatable portions... fascinating. (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Citations

  • Ingram Advance, 04/01/2005, Page 135
  • New York Times, 05/22/2005, Page 32

About the author

Award-winning writer Laura Shapiro was at Newsweek for more than fifteen years. The author of Perfection Salad, she has written for many other publications, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Granta, and Gourmet.
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