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SFPFS Book Club Review of The United States of Arugula, by David Kamp November 12, 2007 by Christina Mueller Welter  Here
is the wrap-up for our last meeting on The United States of Arugula
and info on our next meeting and book choice.The book did not receive a rave from the assembled group. While Kamp managed to touch on many aspects of the world of American food since the beginning of the 20th century and it was overall an interesting book, there were some major omissions and goofs. Noted major omissions (this list could be very long): no word at the CIA and its influence and not one peep about the rise of regional American cooking or the major chefs coming out of Chicago. The group's two favorite goofs: 1. Kamp's research on Julia Child was apparently limited to reading both Noel Riley Fitch's biography and My Life in France by Alex Prud'Homme as even the quotes Kamp used were lifted straight out of these books. 2. Kamp notes that Charlie Trotter never went to cooking school. Linda Carucci, who in fact, went to school at the CCA with Charlie Trotter, caught this slip up. "He dropped out after his first year and believe me, he did not need the CCA training because he was so good, but he did receive at least some formal training at a cooking school," noted Carucci. Which leads to point #3: was there an editor for this book? It seems like Kamp was given carte blanche to write about what he wanted to write about in the style he wanted with little oversight or editing. The writing was uneven and it was not always clear why he chose certain anecdotes and characters over others. Last point, #4: what was the editorial purpose of telling us so much about, say, Craig Claiborne's sex life, and nothing about Emeril Lagasse's sex life? James Beard's and some about Wolfgang Puck's and Alice Water's, but not Julia Child's or the chefs at the Silver Palate? If you are going to give us the sexual dirt about some of the characters, he should have provided it (or left it out entirely!) for all. Did it help the creative cheffing process? This was not made clear. In sum: this could have been a great coffee table book for the ages but widely missed the mark. Arugula offers a decent historical round-up, and some in the group felt it has merit as a quick read on the history of good food in America, but Kamp needed an editor who focused him on the history and research and not on the peccadillos of the characters. Great potential that should not have turned into a "sensationalist" work. In the future… Our next meeting will be hosted by Alan Finkelstein, on Tuesday, January 29 (pending Board approval). Our next book is: The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones. Jones edited Julia Child's books and recently wrote this memoir. Until then, be well and hope to see you soon at a Food Society event. |
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