Some books and articles that I have enjoyed and reccomend. These are great food history reads as well as personal favorites and perrenial inspirations.
Natural Histories
The book that started it all! This is a lovely book about the known history of breadmaking and it’s role in human social development. It is out of print, but if you can score a copy it is so worth it.
This is a great comprehensive history spanning from the neolithic to the modern day. Tannahill does an excellent job of breaking down a monumental amount of information into comprehensible and enjoyable parts. The move books linearly through time but also jumps around the globe. The snapshots of individual food cultures paints a comprehensive piture. And bonus, informative and academic as this book is, it manages to be surprisingly witty and humorous in a way that is very approachable.
Comprehensive and fascinating. A thrilling read for anyone who loves the social and economic aspects of wine.
Patrick E. McGovern pioneered the field of molectular archeology applied to ancient viticulture. You will find him quoted in almost every book or paper written about prehistoric and historic winemaking. If you are after the very roots of viticulture (which happens to coincide with the very roots of modern humans) this one is for you.
If a scientific approach is more your speed, look no further. An adventure in chemistry, botany, Vine genealogy, microbiology and the psycology for intoxication under one hardcover. This is sadly also out of print, but second hand book sites or libraries may have a copy.
Anthologies/Memoir
Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant (title taken from an existing essay by Laurie Colwin included in this collection) is an anthology of essays by, for, and about eating alone. Sharing a meal with others is one of life’s greatest gifts, an intrinsically human act, but what about when we eat a meal by ourselves? We are social animals, but still animals, who sometimes need to eat dinner on a Tuesday in an empty kitchen. Why does eating alone feel different? I would reccomend this anthology to anyone, anywhere. Moving, sad, funny and poingnant, each essay is has a unique opinion on eating by ourselves. Whether you love or loath to eat alone, there is something for you in this book.
Peasant Fare 
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