The Hamburger: A History

by Josh Ozersky

Book Overview

America has run on hamburgers for almost a century. This is the story of their sizzle and their symbolism, where they came from and how they conquered the world.

What do Americans think of when they think of the hamburger? A robust, succulent spheroid of fresh ground beef, the birthright of red-blooded citizens? Or a Styrofoam-shrouded Big Mac, mass-produced to industrial specifications and served by wage slaves to an obese, brainwashed...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 030015125X
• ISBN13: 9780300151251
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

The Reason the Hamburger is an Americab Icon!

Revealing History into why the Hamburger has emerged as an American Icon in the last century.

American dinery at its finest

If you like hamburgers as I do this is a good history as to its growth of popularity.

Part Food History, Part Corporate Expansion and Part Sociology

The history of the hamburger would seem to be a relatively mundane and fairly well known issue. If you thought that, as I did, you would be very mistaken. The history of the hamburger is much more complicated than simply the invention and selling of meat on a bun. The author starts the book by debunking most of the current myths about how and who invented the hamburger. And, the author uses pretty strict criteria for what a hamburger is and is not. He puts to rest the claims of many of the people who claim to be the originator and comes up with a plausible explanation of how the burger was actually invented. From that point, the author looks at the social implications, as well as the corporate structure that made the hamburger what it is today. How did McD's get started and how did a lowly piece of meat create one of today's largest corporations? You'll just have to read the book to find out. What happened to the company that started it all? And, no, that would not be McD. The book, while relatively short, is well written and very readable. I enjoyed learning about the sides of the hamburger that I never knew existed.