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4.5
First of all, the reader should know that this is not actually a cookbook that will tell you how to prepare and cook your own insects, though a few sample recipes are briefly written out in the text. This book is more of a "travel memoir meets anthropological study," about people who consume insects and the countries in which bug-eating is common. Fortunately, the writing is strong and the photographs, of which there are plenty, are fantastic. The writers took 8 years to travel the world, interview people, take great pictures, and learn as much as they could about the practical and cultural aspects of eating bugs; this dedication paid off. The book is handsome and sturdy, loaded with great pictures and yet not so massive as to be mereley a coffee-table conversation piece. I read the book with my young children, who are fascinated by the pictures of insects and the people eating them. At night I read it by myself, amazed by the cultural gems the authors have written about. While the idea of eating bugs was not particularly appealing to me at first, this book inspired me to purchase and try a number of edible insect products(which, conveniently, can be purchased right here on Amazon.com). I am an amateur gourmet cook and traveller, and this book really inspired me to expand both my culinary interests and my travel plans! I truly hope this husband-and-wife team will put out more publications as they really did a fantastic job with this one. It's a keeper in my home library for sure. Should you choose to try eating your own insects, products by Hotlix (made in the USA) are a great place to start.A delightful book featuring an eight year on-again off-again survey of...BUGS ON THE DINNER PLATE! The authors search for insect eaters willing to be photographed with their cuisine and share their knowledge. The photos are plentiful and absolutely brilliant.Peter alternates essays with Faith and is consistently more enthusiastic about experiencing every taste: "If day-old fried chicken had no bones, hair instead of feathers, and were the size of a newborn sparrow, they might taste like tarantula." Faith only ate a two inch piece of tarantula leg. Peter says Faith is a lightweight. "Big deal!" says Faith.The South African ladies' lunch group was aghast when they heard about the Chinese, who eat raw scorpions with their stingers and poison sacs removed or stir-fried without the subtraction. "I wouldn't eat them," one of them said, as she downed her fried termites. Both groups would probably be repulsed by the New Guinea boys who eat raws grubs or roasted stink bugs for a mid-morning snack - or the Indonesian woman who likes cicada and says, "It's better than pig." What constitutes acceptable vs repulsive food seems to be a matter of locale and culture.Obviously, our supermarkets are culturally limited, offering only a narrow slice of what world cuisine offers. The authors provide formal recipes for witchetty grub dip, fried water bugs with plum sauce, scorpion soup, grasshopper tacos, stink bug pate, mealworm spaghetti, and sundried mopane worms. Many simpler recipes may be gleaned from the text.Peter Menzel is an award-winning photographer. Faith D'Aluisio, his wife, is an award winning TV news and documentary producer. The book covers trips to thirteen countries, mostly third-world - definitely a 5-star effort.This book has always been a big hit with the numerous public school classes that visit our museum. I only have to hold it up to get a reaction, usually a groan, but it sure gets their attention. It also starts discussions and questions even when other parts of the presentation have not. The photos are great and add immensely to the charm of the book.In general Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio have written a book in "Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects" that is largely color photos. But what photos! Each present parts of a story involving the way various cultures employ insects in their cuisine. This brings up a question used by a much earlier author as a book title - "Why Not Eat Insects?" Many (but by no means all!) species of both insects and arachnids are as edible as the shrimp and crabs we Americans love to consume. We of course have to be cautious (not a good idea to eat cockroaches, despite some "reality" TV programs!), but there are a number of "safe" species that have been "taste tested" so to speak. In addition, we unwittingly consume tons of insects in various agricultural products simply because they pose no health hazard and are nearly impossible to remove.If you have to deal with children in education or if you are just curious about what other cultures eat, this is a great book both to read and just to peruse. I would think that it would find its way to school libraries and to home schoolers lists of resources!Excellent full color photography. This could have been more indepth on recipes. There must be a lot more types of edible insects than what is shown here and some step by step meal preparation in full color would really help in rounding out this scratch on the surface edible insects. The book is more of a coffee table conversation piece than a chef's delight but what is presented here gives some insight into cultures and is far superior to any line drawing presentation.Sensitive folks should be aware that there are a small number of pictures showing breasts and genitalia. This isn't surprising, considering that public nudity is accepted in many cultures.Also, this is not a recipe book in the traditional sense. There are a handful of recipes sprinkled throughout, but it's more of a cultural educational read.The photographs are fantastic, the writing very interesting. I greatly enjoyed this book and happily added it to our collection after a little editing of my own with a black permanent marker. (Yes, I'm one of those sensitive folks.)The more we are concious about this subjet, the better it is, so I am happy i found that book. And it is well documentedHaving the chanc of buying a book for such a small price is really nice, it also says that whoever had the book took the effort of giving it to someone instead of just throwing it away. I hope there would be even more offers like this one, because books even when used are full of magic.Delibery time was good
