How to Feed an Army: Recipes and Lore from the Front Lines

by P.J. Huff and J.G. Lewin

Book Overview

For more than 200 years, the American military has been doing its best to figure out "How to Feed an Army" What they've managed to concoct along the way is a rich history of culinary successes, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060891114
• ISBN13: 9780060891114
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Its savory collations will add to your esprit de corps

Okay, I think my love for historical cookbooks drew me into a trap on this one. But hey, it's still a pretty good book; I just resent it when a publisher shows me a book I absolutely have to have, because frankly I just don't have the cashflow to buy every interesting book I see. Be that as it may, this is a pretty interesting book for anyone with an interest in food or military history. David Feldman wrote in one of his Imponderables books about why institutional food always seems to taste the same; the answer is that at least in the United States, many food service operations use recipes from the US Armed Forces' recipe cards, a collection of some 1700 (as of the 2003 edition) recipes designed for feeding masses of people. They are not the most cutting-edge of recipes, leaning as they do less towards Wolfgang Puck than the disgraceful Sandra Lee, but they do represent a remarkable tour de force in logistical organization in one of the most advanced militaries in the world. That said, it is something of a chore to acquire the collection (one must be handy with wget and have a laser printer loaded with cardstock, or spend much money for a printed edition), and in any case there is little historical context for the casual reader. That is what makes this book interesting. This book covers some of the more popular dishes from various conflicts from the history of the United States, going back to the Revolutionary War all the way up to the current Iraq conflict, and includes extensive footnotes and sidebars on the place of food in US military history (the importance of coffee to American fighters, the "embalmed beef" controversy of World War I, the sentimental significance of the P-38 can opener, and an infamous fish-related screwup by the Confederate Army in northern Virginia that led to the truce at Appomattox all rate much discussion) as well as comments, cartoons, and even slang definitions related to military eating. Recipes are given in their original 100-portion bulk and scaled down quantities for only ten soldiers. Overall the food actually looks mostly quite good, if sometimes humorously inauthentic (the "Greek Lemon Turkey Pasta", apparently currently on offer in the DFACs in Iraq, is a good example of both points), though the most famous clunkers of military cooking are in there as well (hardtack, for example, is page 145, while an infamously unmentionable breakfast is on page 44). So this is definitely a book for historians of both military and culinary stripes, as well as foodies in general and those responsible for huge kitchen operations in particular. Some of the things in here, like Slumgullion or the intensely purist World War I Chile con Carne, even make for interesting theme meals for dinner parties; others, such as Beef Porcupines or English Muffin French Toast, would be great kid's meals. Military memorabilia is not to everyone's taste, but if you do like that sort of thing, you'll love this.