Hamburger: A Global History (Reaktion Books - Edible)
No other American food, not even the hot dog, dares lay equal claim to the hamburger’s iconic status. Food historian and sociologist Smith traces the origins of the hamburger to its murky nineteenth-century birth, refusing to credit any of the competing claims to the ground-beef sandwich’s beginning, noting the absence of any primary documentation. The hamburger might never have become America’s signature dish had it not been for the spread of the automobile, which made the drive-in the roadscape’s dominant feature. Smith recounts the history of McDonald’s and White Castle as well as that of Burger King, Wendy’s, and all the other chains that have achieved global ubiquity. Cultural warriors may object to burgers’ dominance, but people’s appetites still find them irresistible. Smith cannot write about the hamburger without treating also its helpmate, the french fry. Recipes for burgers illustrate just a few of the sandwich’s countless variations. --Mark Knoblauch