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The Flowering Wand: Rewilding the Sacred Masculine
by Sophie Strand• Reveals the restorative fungi archetype of Osiris, the Orphic mysteries as an underground mycelium linking forests and people, how Dionysus teaches us about invasive species and playful sexuality, and the ecology of Jesus as depicted in his nature-focused parables• Liberates Tristan, Merlin, and the Grail legends from the bounds of Campbell&’s hero&’s journey and invites the masculine into more nuanced, complex ways of dealing with trauma, growth, and self-knowledgeLong before the sword-wielding heroes of legend readily cut down forests, slaughtered the old deities, and vanquished their enemies, there were playful gods, animal-headed kings, mischievous lovers, trickster harpists, and vegetal magicians with flowering wands. As eco-feminist scholar Sophie Strand discovered, these wilder, more magical modes of the masculine have always been hidden in plain sight. Sharing the culmination of eight years of research into myth, folklore, and the history of religion, Strand leads us back into the forgotten landscapes and hidden secrets of familiar myths, revealing the beautiful range of the divine masculine, including expressions of male friendship, male intimacy, and male creative collaboration. In discussing Dionysus and Osiris, Strand encourages us to think like an ecosystem instead of like an individual. She connects dying, vegetal gods to the virtuous cycle of composting and decay, highlighting the ways in which mushrooms can restore soil and heal polluted landscapes. Exploring esoteric Christianity, the author celebrates the Gnostic Jesus of the Gospel of Thomas, imagining the ecology that the Rabbi Yeshua would have actually been referencing in his nature-focused parables. Strand frees Tristan, Merlin, and the Grail legends from the bounds of Campbell&’s hero&’s journey and invites the masculine into more nuanced, complex ways of dealing with trauma, growth, and self-knowledge. Strand reseeds our minds with new visions of male identity and shows how each of us, regardless of gender, can develop a matured ecological empathy and witness a blossoming of sacred masculine powers that are soft, curious, connective, and celebratory.
The Flowers of the Forest: Scotland and the First World War
by Trevor RoyleThe author of Culloden details the effects of World War I on Scotland. On the brink of the First World War, Scotland was regarded throughout the British Isles as &“the workshop of the Empire.&” Not only were Clyde-built ships known the world over, Scotland produced half of Britain&’s total production of railway equipment, and the cotton and jute industries flourished in Paisley and Dundee. In addition, Scots were a hugely important source of manpower for the colonies. Yet after the war, Scotland became an industrial and financial backwater. Emigration increased as morale slumped in the face of economic stagnation and decline. The country had paid a disproportionately high price in casualties, a result of huge numbers of volunteers and the use of Scottish battalions as shock troops in the fighting on the Western Front and Gallipoli—young men whom the novelist Ian Hay called &“the vanished generation.&” In this book, Trevor Royle provides the first full account of how the war changed Scotland irrevocably by exploring a wide range of themes: the overwhelming response to the call for volunteers; the performance of Scottish military formations in 1915 and 1916; the militarization of the Scottish homeland; the resistance to war in Glasgow and the west of Scotland; and the boom in the heavy industries and the strengthening of women&’s role in society following on from wartime employment. &“Royle has done First World War History a great service.&” —Gary Sheffield, military historian &“His exceptional talents at narration produce a work that is both through-provoking and engaging . . . A vivid, solidly-written book.&” —International Review of Scottish Studies
The Floyd Collins Tragedy at Sand Cave (Images of America)
by John Benton Bob Thompson Bill NapperFloyd Collins is perhaps the most famous person you have probably never heard of. Collins was a Kentucky cave explorer who was trapped for more than two weeks during the winter of 1925 in a cave located within the boundaries of what is now Mammoth Cave National Park. Collins had no fear of exploring the most difficult cave passages, and few people could match his persistence and endurance. The story of Floyd Collins becoming trapped, then buried alive, and ultimately dying alone in a cave held a powerful grip on the hearts and minds of people the world over. The resulting media coverage put Mammoth Cave on the map and helped usher the actual designation of Mammoth Cave as a national park. His explorations laid the foundation for others to later discover that Mammoth Cave was the longest cave in the world.
The Flu Pandemic and You: A Canadian Guide
by Vincent Lam Dr. Colin LeeAn essential survival guide – both to pandemic influenza, and to the hype surrounding it.Written by an emergency physician and a public health physician, The Flu Pandemic and You is a frank and clear book about how to prepare for the next influenza pandemic, and how to understand the broader context in which the threat exists. With cool heads and great professional expertise, the authors describe the history of influenza pandemics, the scientific reasons for the current health concern, the effects a pandemic would have, and the steps governments are likely to take when, not if, it hits. Drs. Lam and Lee carefully explain how readers can assess their level of risk, and set out practical advice on how an individual can prepare for a pandemic and maximize their chances of living through it. They draw on the latest evidence and their experience of the SARS outbreak of 2003. The Flu Pandemic and You develops a lucid framework to help people respond to the latest news stories about avian flu, and understand the current media anxiety about influenza in the context of the risks we all face in our daily lives. This crucially important book, full of reasoned, knowledgeable advice, is an indispensable handbook for fearful times.
The Fluvial Imagination: On Lesotho's Water-Export Economy (Critical Environments: Nature, Science, and Politics #12)
by Colin HoagA free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. Landlocked and surrounded by South Africa on all sides, the mountain kingdom of Lesotho became the world's first "water-exporting country" when it signed a 1986 treaty with its powerful neighbor. An elaborate network of dams and tunnels now carries water to Johannesburg, the subcontinent's water-stressed economic epicenter. Hopes that receipts from water sales could improve Lesotho's fortunes, however, have clashed with fears that soil erosion from overgrazing livestock could fill its reservoirs with sediment. In this wide-ranging and deeply researched book, Colin Hoag shows how producing water commodities incites a fluvial imagination. Engineering water security for urban South Africa draws attention ever further into Lesotho's rural upstream catchments: from reservoirs to the soils and vegetation above them, and even to the social lives of herders at remote livestock posts. As we enter our planet's water-export era, Lesotho exposes the possibilities and perils ahead.
The Focus Group Guidebook
by David L. MorganProviding a general introduction to focus group research, Morgan includes the appropriate reasons for using focus groups and what you can expect to accomplish with them. He provides a brief history of focus groups, a discussion of when to use focus groups and why, and several brief case studies illustrating different uses of focus groups. The author covers the timeline and costs associated with focus groups, including a discussion of the ethical issues involved in focus group research. Thoroughly covering all the information to help you start your focus group project, this guidebook is appropriate for anybody beginning a focus group, as well as managers or clients who will be using focus groups.
The Fold: From Your Body to the Cosmos
by Laura U. MarksIn The Fold, Laura U. Marks offers a practical philosophy and aesthetic theory for living in an infinitely connected cosmos. Drawing on the theories of Leibniz, Glissant, Deleuze, and theoretical physicist David Bohm—who each conceive of the universe as being folded in on itself in myriad ways—Marks contends that the folds of the cosmos are entirely constituted of living beings. From humans to sandwiches to software to stars, every entity is alive and occupies its own private enclosure inside the cosmos. Through analyses of fiction, documentary and experimental movies, interactive media, and everyday situations, Marks outlines embodied methods for detecting and augmenting the connections between each living entity and the cosmos. She shows that by affectively mediating with the ever-shifting folded relations within the cosmos, it is possible to build “soul-assemblages” that challenge information capitalism, colonialism, and other power structures and develop new connections with the infinite. With this guide for living within the enfolded and unfolding cosmos, Marks teaches readers to richly apprehend the world and to trace the processes of becoming that are immanent within the fold.
The Folds of Olympus: Mountains in Ancient Greek and Roman Culture
by Professor Jason KönigA cultural and literary history of mountains in classical antiquityThe mountainous character of the Mediterranean was a crucial factor in the history of the ancient Greek and Roman world. The Folds of Olympus is a cultural and literary history that explores the important role mountains played in Greek and Roman religious, military, and economic life, as well as in the identity of communities over a millennium—from Homer to the early Christian saints. Aimed at readers of ancient history and literature as well as those interested in mountains and the environment, the book offers a powerful account of the landscape at the heart of much Greek and Roman culture.Jason König charts the importance of mountains in religion and pilgrimage, the aesthetic vision of mountains in art and literature, the place of mountains in conquest and warfare, and representations of mountain life. He shows how mountains were central to the way in which the inhabitants of the ancient Mediterranean understood the boundaries between the divine and the human, and the limits of human knowledge and control. He also argues that there is more continuity than normally assumed between ancient descriptions of mountains and modern accounts of the picturesque and the sublime.Offering a unique perspective on the history of classical culture, The Folds of Olympus is also a resoundingly original contribution to the literature on mountains.
The Folds of Parnassos: Land and Ethnicity in Ancient Phokis
by Jeremy McinerneyIndependent city-states (poleis) such as Athens have been viewed traditionally as the most advanced stage of state formation in ancient Greece. By contrast, this pioneering book argues that for some Greeks the ethnos, a regionally based ethnic group, and the koinon, or regional confederation, were equally valid units of social and political life and that these ethnic identities were astonishingly durable. Jeremy McInerney sets his study in Phokis, a region in central Greece dominated by Mount Parnassos that shared a border with the panhellenic sanctuary at Delphi. He explores how ecological conditions, land use, and external factors such as invasion contributed to the formation of a Phokian territory. Then, drawing on numerous interdisciplinary sources, he traces the history of the region from the Archaic age down to the Roman period. McInerney shows how shared myths, hero cults, and military alliances created an ethnic identity that held the region together over centuries, despite repeated invasions. He concludes that the Phokian koinon survived because it was founded ultimately on the tenacity of the smaller communities of Greece.
The Folk Singers and the Bureau: The FBI, the Folk Artists and the Suppression of the Communist Party, USA-1939-1956
by Aaron LeonardThe first book to document the efforts of the FBI against the most famous American folk singers of the mid-twentieth century, including Woody Guthrie, 'Sis Cunningham, Pete Seeger, Lee Hays and Burl Ives.Some of the most prominent folk singers of the twentieth century, including Woody Guthrie, 'Sis Cunningham, Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Burl Ives, etc., were also political activists with various associations with the American Communist Party. As a consequence, the FBI, along with other governmental and right-wing organizations, were monitoring them, keeping meticulous files running many thousands of pages, and making (and carrying out) plans to purge them from the cultural realm.In The Folk Singers and the Bureau, Aaron J Leonard draws on an unprecedented array of declassified documents and never before released files to shed light on the interplay between left-wing folk artists and their relationship with the American Communist Party, and how it put them in the US government's repressive cross hairs.At a time of increasing state surveillance and repression, The Folk Singers and the Bureau shows how the FBI and other governmental agencies have attempted to shape and repress American culture.
The Folkloral Voice (International Institute for Qualitative Methodology Series)
by Ian William SewallIn this narrative collage of ancient and contemporary storytelling, modern theory, and personal reflection, Ian William Sewall seeks to infuse western pedagogy with a folkloral teaching voice. Through multilayered conversations with individuals and groups—traditional storytellers, teachers, children—he examines the dynamic nature of oral culture, its embodied nature, its connection to place, and its use of metaphor, laughter, ethnicity, and intergenerational conversation to create unique kinds of interactions and learning. Offering storytelling as an “ancestral template” of good teaching, Sewall demonstrates how teachers can use the folkoral voice to inform and transform classroom practice.
The Folklore of Orkney & Shetland
by Ernest Walker MarwickThis comprehensive volume of folkloric traditions in Scotland’s Northern Isles is a treasure trove of stories, history, and cultural legacy.The two island groups of Orkney and Shetland have much in common. In each the grey stone houses and treeless landscapes are scoured in winter by stinging gales, and in summer lie under the endless days of the ‘simmer din’.Originally Norwegian, they have been part of Scotland for centuries, but their many and varied legends, folk tales and customs are still saturated with Norse influences. While this book tells tales and discusses beliefs that are known throughout the northern isles, it also outlines those elements which are unique to each island group.Ernest Marwick not only recounts countless tales which have been transmitted aurally and by writing, but also places these tales within geographical and historical contexts, thus enabling a deeper appreciation of this wonderful material. A bibliography is also included, together with an index of tale types and motifs.
The Folkloresque
by Michael Dylan Foster Jeffrey A. Tolbert"This volume introduces a new concept to explore the dynamic relationship between folklore and popular culture: the "folkloresque." With "folkloresque," Foster and Tolbert name the product created when popular culture appropriates or reinvents folkloric themes, characters, and images. Such manufactured tropes are traditionally considered outside the purview of academic folklore study, but the folkloresque offers a frame for understanding them that is grounded in the discourse and theory of the discipline.Fantasy fiction, comic books, anime, video games, literature, professional storytelling and comedy, and even popular science writing all commonly incorporate elements from tradition or draw on basic folklore genres to inform their structure. Through three primary modes--integration, portrayal, and parody--the collection offers a set of heuristic tools for analysis of how folklore is increasingly used in these commercial and mass-market contexts.The Folkloresque challenges disciplinary and genre boundaries; suggests productive new approaches for interpreting folklore, popular culture, literature, film, and contemporary media; and encourages a rethinking of traditional works and older interpretive paradigms."
The Folkloresque: Reframing Folklore in a Popular Culture World
by Michael Dylan Foster Jeffrey A. TolbertThis volume introduces a new concept to explore the dynamic relationship between folklore and popular culture: the “folkloresque.” With “folkloresque,” Foster and Tolbert name the product created when popular culture appropriates or reinvents folkloric themes, characters, and images. Such manufactured tropes are traditionally considered outside the purview of academic folklore study, but the folkloresque offers a frame for understanding them that is grounded in the discourse and theory of the discipline. Fantasy fiction, comic books, anime, video games, literature, professional storytelling and comedy, and even popular science writing all commonly incorporate elements from tradition or draw on basic folklore genres to inform their structure. Through three primary modes—integration, portrayal, and parody—the collection offers a set of heuristic tools for analysis of how folklore is increasingly used in these commercial and mass-market contexts. The Folkloresque challenges disciplinary and genre boundaries; suggests productive new approaches for interpreting folklore, popular culture, literature, film, and contemporary media; and encourages a rethinking of traditional works and older interpretive paradigms. Contributors: Trevor J. Blank, Chad Buterbaugh, Bill Ellis, Timothy H. Evans, Michael Dylan Foster, Carlea Holl-Jensen, Greg Kelley, Paul Manning, Daniel Peretti, Gregory Schrempp, Jeffrey A. Tolbert
The Folklorist in the Marketplace: Conversations at the Crossroads of Vernacular Culture and Economics
by Willow Mullins Puja Batra-WellsThe Folklorist in the Marketplace brings together voices from multiple disciplines to consider how economics shape—and are shaped by—folk groups and academic disciplines. The authors ask how folk and folklorists can productively comment on the economic structures they inhabit. As trade, technology, and geopolitics have led to a rapid increase in the global spread of cultural products like media, knowledge, objects, and folkways, there has been a concomitant rise in fear and anxiety about globalization’s dark other side—economic nativism, neocolonialism, cultural appropriation, and loss. Culture has become a resource and a currency in the global marketplace. This movement of people and forms necessitates a new textual consideration of how folklore and economics interweave. In The Folklorist in the Marketplace, contributors explore how the marketplace and folklore have always been integrally linked and what that means at this cultural and economic moment. Covering a variety of topics, from creel boats to the history of a commune that makes hammocks, The Folklorist in the Marketplace goes far beyond the well-trod examinations of material culture to look closely at the historical and contemporary intersections of these two disciplines and to provoke cross-disciplinary conversation and collaboration. Contributors: William A. Ashton, Halle M. Butvin, James I. Deutsch, Christofer Johnson, Michael Lange, John Laudun, Julie M-A LeBlanc, Cassie Patterson, Rahima Schwenkbeck, Amy Shuman, Irene Sotiropoulou, Zhao Yuanhao
The Folkstories of Children
by Brian Sutton-SmithWhat prompts children to tell stories? What does the word "story" mean to a child at two or five years of age? The Folkstories of Children, first published in 1981, features nearly five hundred stories that were volunteered by fifty children between the ages of two and ten and transcribed word for word. The stories are organized chronologically by the age of the teller, revealing the progression of verbal competence and the gradual emergence of staging and plot organization. Many stories told by two-year-olds, for example, have only beginnings with no middle or end; the "narrative" is held together by rhyme or alliteration. After the age of three or four, the same children tell stories that feature a central character and a narrative arc. The stories also exhibit each child's growing awareness and management of his or her environment and life concerns. Some children see their stories as dialogues between teller and audience, others as monologues expressing concerns about fate and the forces of good and evil.Brian Sutton-Smith discusses the possible origins of the stories themselves: folktales, parent and teacher reading, media, required writing of stories in school, dreams, and play. The notes to each chapter draw on this context as well as folktale analysis and child development theory to consider why and how the stories take their particular forms. The Folkstories of Children provides valuable evidence and insight into the ways children actively and inventively engage language as they grow.
The Food Book: The Stories, Science, and History of What We Eat, New Edition
by DKDiscover the origins, traditions, and use of the everyday foods served up on our plates, from salt to sushi and rice to ravioli.A true celebration of food in all its forms, The Food Book follows the human quest for sustenance through the stories of individual ingredients and examines our millenia-long relationship with nearly 200 foods—from nuts and seeds to noodles and meat—with the help of sumptuous illustrations and tales from all over the world.Food is the cornerstone of daily life, culture, and even religion. Staples like bread, beans, and cereal crops are part of our culinary history, and used in many ways around the world. This fascinating reference covers all food groups, including nuts and grains, fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, and herbs and spices, providing information on every aspect of their history, and their place in world cuisine.Packed with glorious images to create a feast for the eyes, and stories that surprise and enthrall, this is the ultimate feast for foodies, a global smorgasbord packed with unforgettable tales and eye-opening facts.
The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats
by Daniel StoneThe true adventures of David Fairchild, a late-nineteenth-century food explorer who traveled the globe and introduced diverse crops like avocados, mangoes, seedless grapes--and thousands more--to the American plate.In the nineteenth century, American meals were about subsistence, not enjoyment. But as a new century approached, appetites broadened, and David Fairchild, a young botanist with an insatiable lust to explore and experience the world, set out in search of foods that would enrich the American farmer and enchant the American eater.Kale from Croatia, mangoes from India, and hops from Bavaria. Peaches from China, avocados from Chile, and pomegranates from Malta. Fairchild's finds weren't just limited to food: From Egypt he sent back a variety of cotton that revolutionized an industry, and via Japan he introduced the cherry blossom tree, forever brightening America's capital. Along the way, he was arrested, caught diseases, and bargained with island tribes. But his culinary ambition came during a formative era, and through him, America transformed into the most diverse food system ever created.
The Food Industries of Europe in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
by Alain DrouardThe industrialization of food preservation and processing has been a dramatic development across Europe during modern times. This book sets out its story from the beginning of the nineteenth century when preservation of food from one harvest to another was essential to prevent hunger and even famine. Population growth and urbanization depended upon a break out from the ’biological ancien regime’ in which hunger was an ever-present threat. The application of mass production techniques by the food industries was essential to the modernization of Europe. From the mid-nineteenth century the development of food industries followed a marked regional pattern. After an initial growth in north-west Europe, the spread towards south-east Europe was slowed by social, cultural and political constraints. This was notable in the post-Second World War era. The picture of change in this volume is presented by case studies of countries ranging from the United Kingdom in the west to Romania in the east. All illustrate the role of food industries in creating new products that expanded the traditional cereal-based diet of pre-industrial Europe. Industrially preserved and processed foods provided new flavours and appetizing novelties which led to brand names recognized by consumers everywhere. Product marketing and advertising became fundamental to modern food retailing so that Europe’s largest food producers, Danone, Nestlé and Unilever, are numbered amongst the world’s biggest companies.
The Food Of Portugal
by Jean AndersonAn extensive bilingual glossary explains, defines, and describes Portuguese food, wine, cooking, and restaurant terms. With notes for cooks and travelers on the language of Portuguese wine, food, and dining. Wine notes have been completely revised and updated. Color photographs of Portugal by the author.
The Food Police
by Jayson LuskA rollicking indictment of the liberal elite's hypocrisy when it comes to food.Ban trans-fats? Outlaw Happy Meals? Tax Twinkies? What's next? Affirmative action for cows? A catastrophe is looming. Farmers are raping the land and torturing animals. Food is riddled with deadly pesticides, hormones and foreign DNA. Corporate farms are wallowing in government subsidies. Meat packers and fast food restaurants are exploiting workers and tainting the food supply. And Paula Deen has diabetes! Something must be done. So says an emerging elite in this country who think they know exactly what we should grow, cook and eat. They are the food police. Taking on the commandments and condescension the likes of Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, and Mark Bittman, The Food Police casts long overdue skepticism on fascist food snobbery, debunking the myths propagated by the food elite. You'll learn:- Organic food is not necessarily healthier or tastier (and is certainly more expensive).- Genetically modified foods haven't sickened a single person but they have made farmers more profitable and they do hold the promise of feeding impoverished Africans.- Farm policies aren't making us fat.- Voguish locavorism is not greener or better for the economy.- Fat taxes won't slim our waists and "fixing" school lunch programs won't make our kids any smarter.- Why the food police hypocritically believe an iPad is a technological marvel but food technology is an industrial evilSo before Big Brother and Animal Farm merge into a socialist nightmare, read The Food Police and let us as Americans celebrate what is good about our food system and take back our forks and foie gras before it's too late!
The Food Programme: How Our Hunger has Changed the Past, Present and Future
by Alex RentonVital stories for hungry minds.In the first official book from BBC Radio 4's hit series The Food Programme, award-winning writer Alex Renton tells the stories of 13 key staples such as spice, oil, cocoa, bread and tomatoes, exploring their history, evolution and how our ever-growing hunger for them continues to alter our world. Look at food in a new light - as a weapon, an art form, a tool of revolution, but also a bringer of pure happiness.Discover a kaleidoscope of fascinating facts and curiosities, including the forgotten joys of lard, the secret to perfect chips and how our love of pepper led to piracy.
The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World
by John RobbinsThe tenth anniversary edition of an essential text on food politics: &“Well researched and lucidly written . . . This book is sure to spark discussion&” (Publishers Weekly). When John Robbins first released The Food Revolution in 1987, his insights into America&’s harmful eating habits gave us a powerful wake-up call. Since then, Robbins has continued to shine a spotlight on the most important issues in food politics, such as our dependence on animal products, provoking awareness and promoting change. Robbins&’s arguments for a plant-based diet are compelling and backed by over twenty years of work in the field of sustainable agriculture and conscious eating. This timely new edition will enlighten those curious about plant-based diets and fortify the mindsets of the already converted.
The Food Sharing Revolution: How Start-Ups, Pop-Ups, and Co-Ops are Changing the Way We Eat
by Michael S. CarolanMarvin is a contract hog farmer in Iowa. He owns his land, his barn, his tractor, and his animal crates. He has seen profits drop steadily for the last twenty years and feels trapped. Josh is a dairy farmer on a cooperative in Massachusetts. He doesn't own his cows, his land, his seed, or even all of his equipment. Josh has a healthy income and feels like he's made it.In The Food Sharing Revolution, Michael Carolan tells the stories of traditional producers like Marvin, who are being squeezed by big agribusiness, and entrepreneurs like Josh, who are bucking the corporate food system. The difference is Josh has eschewed the burdens of individual ownership and is tapping into the sharing economy.Josh and many others are sharing tractors, seeds, kitchen space, their homes, and their cultures. They are business owners like Dorothy, who opened her bakery with the help of a no-interest, crowd-sourced loan. They are chefs like Camilla, who introduces diners to her native Colombian cuisine through peer-to-peer meal sharing. Their success is not only good for aspiring producers, but for everyone who wants an alternative to monocrops and processed foods.The key to successful sharing, Carolan shows, is actually sharing. He warns that food, just like taxis or hotels, can be co-opted by moneyed interests. But when collaboration is genuine, the sharing economy can offer both producers and eaters freedom, even sovereignty. The result is a healthier, more sustainable, and more ethical way to eat.
The Food of a Younger Land: The Southwest Eats New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Southern California
by Mark KurlanskyAward-winning New York Times-bestselling author Mark Kurlansky takes us back to the food and eating habits of a younger America: Before the national highway system brought the country closer together; before chain restaurants imposed uniformity and low quality; and before the Frigidaire meant frozen food in mass quantities, the nation's food was seasonal, regional, and traditional. It helped form the distinct character, attitudes, and customs of those who ate it.<P> In the 1930s, with the country gripped by the Great Depression and millions of Americans struggling to get by, FDR created the Federal Writers' Project under the New Deal as a make-work program for artists and authors. A number of writers, including Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty, and Nelson Algren, were dispatched all across America to chronicle the eating habits, traditions, and struggles of local people. The project, called "America Eats," was abandoned in the early 1940s because of the World War and never completed.<P> The Food of a Younger Land unearths this forgotten literary and historical treasure and brings it to exuberant life. Mark Kurlansky's brilliant book captures these remarkable stories, and combined with authentic recipes, anecdotes, photos, and his own musings and analysis, evokes a bygone era when Americans had never heard of fast food and the grocery superstore was a thing of the future. Kurlansky serves as a guide to this hearty and poignant look at the country's roots.<P> From New York automats to Georgia Coca-Cola parties, from Arkansas possum-eating clubs to Puget Sound salmon feasts, from Choctaw funerals to South Carolina barbecues, the WPA writers found Americans in their regional niches and eating an enormous diversity of meals.