The New York Times Book Review - Michael Pollan
For a revolution that supposedly failed, the counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s scored a string of enduring victories. Environmentalism, feminism, civil and gay rights, as well as styles of music, fashion, politics, therapy and intoxication: In more ways than many of us realize, we live in a world created by the '60s…Jonathan Kauffman's briskly entertaining history, Hippie Food, makes a convincing case for adding yet another legacy to that list: the way we eat…I thought I knew this story, having read Warren J. Belasco's 1989 history, Appetite for Change, but Kauffman has added a lot to it, in the way of both fresh information and narrative verve.
From the Publisher
An intelligently written narrative refreshingly free of personal admonitions... Kauffman comprehensively presents the history and the momentum of the organic food revolution while foraging for the keys to its increasing desirability and crossover appeal. An astute, highly informative food expose that educates without bias.” — Kirkus Reviews
“An outstanding food and cultural history…In this informative, briskly paced first book…Kauffman details how the concept of health food ‘evolved in the kitchens of young baby boomers’…Kauffman is equally thorough in tracing how these early innovators inspired the food co-ops and whole food stores that exist today.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Kauffman describes a time when a simple bowl of brown rice...and dashes of tamari could be an act as politically symbolic as hitchhiking to San Francisco with flowers in your hair... Alongside playful prose the great joy of Hippie Food is its rich cast of characters.” — Wall Street Journal
“Kauffman’s research left him with a fascinating picture of what longhairs ate and where they got it.” — NPR’s The Salt
“Briskly entertaining… I thought I knew this story, but Kauffman has added a lot to it, in the way of both fresh information and narrative verve.”
— Michael Pollan for the New York Times
Wall Street Journal
Kauffman describes a time when a simple bowl of brown rice...and dashes of tamari could be an act as politically symbolic as hitchhiking to San Francisco with flowers in your hair... Alongside playful prose the great joy of Hippie Food is its rich cast of characters.
Michael Pollan for the New York Times
Briskly entertaining… I thought I knew this story, but Kauffman has added a lot to it, in the way of both fresh information and narrative verve.”
NPR’s The Salt
Kauffman’s research left him with a fascinating picture of what longhairs ate and where they got it.
Wall Street Journal
Kauffman describes a time when a simple bowl of brown rice...and dashes of tamari could be an act as politically symbolic as hitchhiking to San Francisco with flowers in your hair... Alongside playful prose the great joy of Hippie Food is its rich cast of characters.
San Francisco Chronicle
An engaging new book...Hippie Food makes the case that the most durable contribution of the counterculture can be found in your kitchen...It’s hard to read more than a few pages without feeling compelled to do something...whether it’s digging a plot for lettuce in your backyard or taking a trip to the farmers’ market.
