Scan barcode
blatanthedgehog's review against another edition
3.0
Since it was Bee Wilson, I expected this to be more lyrical and elaborate but I guess that wasn't the ask from the publisher. A little dry in places but also a treat in some others.
e_flah's review against another edition
3.0
Sandwiches freed us from the fork, the dinner table, the fixed meal time. In a way, they freed us from society itself. We may lament this or we may welcome it, but there is not much point in fighting it. This is the way we eat now.
Sandwich: A Global History looks at the debate around the definition of a sandwich, the origins of the sandwich, the history of what we typically put in them, and the history of who has typically eaten them. I found the content largely interesting -- particularly the origins of the sandwich and all of the primary source material that supports certain theories over others. The organization of the content could be a bit baffling at times, though. Each chapter appeared to have a clear organizing theme yet within the chapters themselves the content would jump from topic to topic seemingly at random. A clearer internal structure or even some subheadings would have made for a much more pleasant reading experience.
I'd also like to quibble with the "global history" portion of the title. According to Sandwich, the origins of the sandwich are in the UK and so much of the narrative focuses on how Brits have made sandwiches and who in British society have typically eaten them. There is a chapter on the history of sandwiches in the U.S. (it spends a surprising amount of time criticizing how large we make our sandwiches possibly because the author is British.) There's also a chapter looking at sandwiches around the world that largely just describes different sandwiches around the globe and the attempts of British and American restaurant chains to spread their visions of sandwiches to new places. When reading between the lines of the content the author presents, a lot of the sandwich's history around the globe is due to imperialism. I would've loved it if this had been discussed directly as it would have added a lot to the claims that the book provides a global history of sandwiches.
If you'd like to learn more about the origins of sandwiches and their history in the UK and U.S., Sandwich: A Global History is worth a read. However, if you're looking for a truly "global" history, I'd look elsewhere.
mostlyshanti's review
3.0
what a fun little digression into sandwhiches. It definitely deliverated repeatedly on the definition of a sandwhich, but it was a fun little book and I learned lots of facts which will probably annoy the people around me at some point in the near or distant future. I read this through a haze of jet lag and sleep deprivation, fueled only by relentless determination and green tea flavoured pretzels and it made me, above everything else, hungry.
More...