"This spirit of curiosity proves an asset to Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World—the writer’s reactions and discoveries often seem to be simultaneous with those of the reader. Mr. Alexander holds forth with the goofy charm of a high-school math teacher—just swap out the trapezoid jokes for tomato puns—keeping his lessons droll, not dull ... I don’t know if even the most delicious summer tomato can explain our place on the planet. But knowing more about its improbable history makes every bite that much sweeter."—The Wall Street Journal
"William Alexander takes readers on a world tour through history, from the tomato's regional origins in Mexico to its ubiquitousness in the present day. Along the way, his play sense of humor makes his book endlessly surprising."—Bookpage, starred review
“Culinary history buffs will revel in the myriad anecdotes Alexander unearths here.”—Booklist
"[A]n engaging look at the humble fruit. . . Eccentric, informative, and thoroughly enjoyable."—Kirkus Reviews
"[O]ne of the most delightful history books of the season. . . By the time you finish his book, you’ll marvel at how much [Alexander] managed to squeeze into 300 pages."—Air Mail
“From the man who grew us The $64 Tomato, William Alexander is back in the garden…as well as in pizzerias in Naples (Italy), a ketchup factory, the local Pizza Hut, large-scale tomatoes farms in Naples (Florida), and the farmers markets where heirloom tomatoes are having their day in the sun, again. Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World is a fascinating and funny tell-all tale of how ten tomatoes are shaping our lives in unusual, unexpected, and (in some cases) very delicious directions.”—David Lebovitz, author of Drinking French and My Paris Kitchen
“William Alexander has written an entertaining, broad-ranging history of the tomato, in a conversational, humorous style that uses tomatoes to explore history -- from the Aztecs to Italian cuisine and pizza -- along with the introduction of fascinating characters, issues such as climate change and hydroponics, heirloom mania, and the search for flavor in a world of GMOs and factory farming.”—Mark Pendergrast, author of Uncommon Grounds and For God, Country and Coca-Cola
“William Alexander is a delightful guide on this whirlwind tour of the tomato's influence on global cuisine and culture. His trademark blend of history, botany, memoir and travelogue make Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World a captivating--and appetizing--read for gardeners and cooks alike.”—Amy Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of The Drunken Botanist
"A thrilling history ... Alexander’s narrative delivers a story that’s as informative as it is funny and filled with awe ... Food lovers will savor every bit."—Publishers Weekly
"Written in a lighthearted style, this engaging book includes historical photos and illustrations, and is packed with fascinating factoids. This is the type of book where readers will find themselves spouting historical tidbits to everyone in their orbit ... A fun book that both instructs and entertains on every page."—Library Journal
"[T]his witty firsthand narrative transcends its topic, niche, and season while tackling that nagging question we all want answered: Why do winter tomatoes taste so awful?"—AudioFile Magazine
“[E]ngaging and immersive.” —Edible Inland Northwest
PRAISE FOR WILLIAM ALEXANDER “Highly readable… Mr. Alexander presents himself as an apprentice, but the reader quickly discovers he is also a master teacher."—Wall Street Journal on Flirting with French
"Alexander's breathless, witty memoir is a joy to read. It's equal parts fact and fun.” —Boston Globe on 52 Loaves
“[Alexander’s] bright writing highlights a pleasing variety of comical misadventures... Entertaining and educative."—Kirkus Reviews on 52 Loaves
"Serious, irreverent, funny and informative at the same time."—Jacques Pépin on 52 Loaves
“Engaging, well-paced and informative."—New York Times on The $64 Tomato
“[A] disarmingly witty take on horticulture…consistently funny."—Washington Post on The $64 Tomato
“Alexander's slightly poisoned paradise manages to impart an existential lesson on the interconnectedness of nature and the fine line between nurturing and killing.” —Publishers Weekly on The $64 Tomato
05/16/2022
Food writer Alexander (The $64 Tomato) presents a thrilling history of one unassuming plant’s “course to influence the cuisine of the entire world, from American ketchup to Indian tikka masala.” While he sees the tomato’s impact as “comparable... to that of all precious metals in the New World,” he notes that it wasn’t always an easy road for the humble fruit. From its arrival in Italy in 1548, it took nearly 300 years to infiltrate Italian cuisine. As Alexander relates, Americans, like their Italian counterparts, were also quick to ignore this “unhealthy, smelly, and strange” item until, as legend has it, Col. Robert Gibbon Johnson ate an entire bucket of them in 1820 to prove they weren’t poisonous. Peppered with fascinating vignettes that whisk readers from Michelangelo’s time as a forger to the explosive popularity of tomato pills—“a tonic guaranteed to cure all ills”—in mid-19th-century America and Domino’s pizza’s domination of college dorms, Alexander’s narrative delivers a story that’s as informative as it is funny and filled with awe (“admittedly,” Alexander writes, “I’m the kind of sucker who gets a chill from standing on historic ground, marveling.... ‘This is where de’ Medici first saw tomatoes!’ ”). Food lovers will savor every bit. (June)
05/01/2022
Alexander ($64 Tomato) has returned to his "roots" to further investigate this ubiquitous fruit/vegetable. In ten chapters, he takes readers from initial specimens deemed poisonous curiosities during the Renaissance to the giant commercial farms in Immokalee, FL to the improbable 100-acre greenhouses growing hydroponic tomatoes year-round in Canada and Michigan. In the process, he also touches on the history of pizza, early canning technology, the development of GMOs, climate change, agricultural labor relations, and much more. Written in a lighthearted style, this engaging book includes historical photos and illustrations, and is packed with fascinating factoids. This is the type of book where readers will find themselves spouting historical tidbits to everyone in their orbit. Two examples: in the 1930's plants were often 15 feet tall and needed to be tended on stepladders, and the only true San Marzano tomatoes are grown on 370 acres in Italy and thus virtually all those consumed in the US are not legit. VERDICT A fun book that both instructs and entertains on every page. Highly recommended.—Susan Hurst
Narrator Paul Bellantoni’s lively delivery breathes oxygen into an already quite lively and information-packed audiobook. Relatively new to listeners, Bellantoni easily assumes the author's persona of earnest investigator, lifting the veil of legend to pinpoint the exact biological truth. Despite the teaser title and the jocular tone that underlies much of the narrative, tomato history proves a timely vantage point for a range of serious topics—from the effects of hybridization and culinary fashion to the mechanics of gene splicing and the future of indoor farming. Best listened to outdoors, and if possible while doing yard work, this witty firsthand narrative transcends its topic, niche, and season while tackling that nagging question we all want answered: Why do winter tomatoes taste so awful? D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Narrator Paul Bellantoni’s lively delivery breathes oxygen into an already quite lively and information-packed audiobook. Relatively new to listeners, Bellantoni easily assumes the author's persona of earnest investigator, lifting the veil of legend to pinpoint the exact biological truth. Despite the teaser title and the jocular tone that underlies much of the narrative, tomato history proves a timely vantage point for a range of serious topics—from the effects of hybridization and culinary fashion to the mechanics of gene splicing and the future of indoor farming. Best listened to outdoors, and if possible while doing yard work, this witty firsthand narrative transcends its topic, niche, and season while tackling that nagging question we all want answered: Why do winter tomatoes taste so awful? D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
2022-02-25
The author of The $64 Tomato returns with an engaging look at the humble fruit.
In this rollicking account, Alexander investigates how the tomato moved from being ignored and disdained to being popular all over the world. The Spanish conquistadors encountered it when they were demolishing the Aztec civilization, and they took it to Europe, where the first samples ended up in Italy. Then, notes the author, it was ignored for centuries, in part because it was related to poisonous nightshade. However, since it was grown as a decorative plant, when people began to try it as food, there were plenty of tomatoes to be had. Italy, especially Naples, looms large in the tomato story, and Alexander spends time in the region tracing the historical connections. “In Italy, when tomatoes were first consumed,” writes the author, “it was by the wealthy, and as an exotic curiosity, much like adventurous eaters today might try fugu, the potentially deadly puffer fish, while visiting Japan.” One of the tomato’s primary uses, ketchup, was a classic American invention, although it began as a way to use the scraps left after canning. Alexander cheerily recounts numerous tales of the tomato’s development, which includes a cast of colorful inventors, marketers, and a few fraudsters. The tomato is self-pollinating, although it can also be fertilized from another plant, which makes them easy to grow. Selective breeding and hybridization have created an array of new varieties, although finding the right balance of taste, size, and resistance to disease has been tricky. Alexander doesn’t dig in to the practice of artificial ripening, but he is impressed by the trend toward large-scale growing in greenhouses, which is probably the future of the tomato. The narrative is insightful and great fun, though the book’s title is a bit misleading—unless you consider the 1949 creation of the Big Boy hybrid to be an earthshaking event.
Eccentric, informative, and thoroughly enjoyable.
