A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

When I tell you that I would travel far for a good ragu, youll appreciate why I also devoured Massimo Montanaris A Short History of Spaghetti With Tomato Sauce, an anatomy of a culture on a plate, and delicious with it." * The Guardian * Disentangling the serpentine strands of the story can be complicated, like working your way through a mound of spaghetti, but Montanari provides a focused overview. Although compact, the book is stuffed with rich ideas. * The TLS * "Food historian Montanari reflect[s] on the meaning of roots, identities, and origins in this illuminating examination of one of the worlds most famous culinary pairings. While this scholarly treatise may be better suited for those with big appetites for knowledge, its full of delicious details." * Publisher's Weekly * "A very entertaining account of the cultural significance and history of the Italian dish... a fun, knowledgeable and well written book." * NB Magazine * Cultural historian Montanari has deconstructed pastas history and come up with some surprising data.... [His] research will delight readers and provide plenty of fodder for dinner-table discussion. * Booklist * Delightful.a brief and hugely entertaining read. * Buzz Magazine * "An utterly fascinating discourse on food history." * The Daily Beast * "Montanari traces the unstoppable rise of what would become the most famous dish in the whole world." * Robinson * "A learned and entertaining volume." * Il Giornale *

Massimo Montanari, currently Professor of Medieval History at Bologna University, is a scholar in Food Studies. He has been invited as visiting professor to a number of leading universities in Europe, Japan, the United States, Mexico and Canada, and is one of the founders of the international review Food & History. Gregory Conti teaches English at the University of Perugia and is a regular contributor to Raritan. His most recent translations are Seven Poems by Elisa Biagini and The Fault Line by Paolo Rumiz (Rizzoli USA, 2015).