Now that it’s summer I finally have time to conquer the reading list that has grown over the past year until it has taken over an entire shelf of my living room wall.  Here are the battles I’ve won this week:

The United States of Arugula by David Kamp.  An interesting overview of the story of food in America from WWII to the present, complete with a rundown of celebrity chefs, talking heads, top restaurants, and the must have ingredients of each food era.  It focuses on the gourmet without being snooty, gives details on the lives and integrations of the main players in the food world without being gossipy, and is a great primer for those who love food today but wonder what it was like back in the day.  Especially interesting are the bits about Craig Claiborne and James Beard, contemporaries of Julia Child who have been left behind in the fervor surrounding her life of late.

The End of Overeating by David Kessler.  A self-help book that could really work.  Kessler is a medical doctor who has spent years researching how the food industry creates its tempting treats and how consumers’ brains react to them.  However, unlike most people who pen a book about food and diet, The End of Overeating contains no silver bullet.  After laying out the science behind why so many people eat too much Kessler gives tips for using behavioral psychology, similar to the advice you would give someone trying so quit smoking, to permanently change habits and each more healthfully.  While not glamorous, the book rings true and could be very helpful to many people.

The Big Short by Michael Lewis.  Just to prove I don’t always read books about food.  I first discovered Lewis when I picked up The Blind Side for a bit of light, pre-finals reading and devoured the whole book in one day.  I figured that anyone who could make the offensive line of football comprehensible to me would be the person I could turn to for insight into the world of finance.  Sure enough, this book made sub-prime mortgage based CDOs make as much sense as any elaborately opaque Ponzi scheme could.  I recommend it to anyone who wants to be horrified by the lack of prospects for the economic recovery of our nation.