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Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America Paperback – March 29, 2005

by Laura Shapiro (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 87 ratings
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Author of the forthcoming What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories (Summer 2017)

In this captivating blend of culinary history and popular culture, the award-winning author of Perfection Salad shows us what happened when the food industry elbowed its way into the kitchen after World War II, brandishing canned hamburgers, frozen baked beans, and instant piecrusts. Big Business waged an all-out campaign to win the allegiance of American housewives, but most women were suspicious of the new foods—and the make-believe cooking they entailed. With sharp insight and good humor, Laura Shapiro shows how the ensuing battle helped shape the way we eat today, and how the clash in the kitchen reverberated elsewhere in the house as women struggled with marriage, work, and domesticity. This unconventional history overturns our notions about the ’50s and offers new thinking on some of its fascinating figures, including Poppy Cannon, Shirley Jackson, Julia Child, and Betty Friedan.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    March 29, 2005
  4. Dimensions
    5.06 x 0.84 x 7.75 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    014303491X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0143034919
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A stylish and witty history of women and food. Shapiro brings distinction to the ordinary as she brilliantly redefines an important period in our recent past."

About the Author

Award-winning writer Laura Shapiro was at Newsweek for more than fifteen years. The author of Perfection Salad, she has written for many other publications, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Granta, and Gourmet.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Publishing Group (March 29, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014303491X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143034919
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.06 x 0.84 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 87 ratings

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Laura Shapiro

Laura Shapiro

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
87 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Patrick W. Crabtree
5.0 out of 5 stars Men could benefit by reading this historical work
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2008
Verified Purchase
Yes, I have to confess that this book is going to be of primary interest to women, male chefs too, but men in general would find that this work is, first and foremost, a HISTORY of cooking and food in 20th-Century America. It's a sort of an oblique and logical follow-up to Ms. Shapiro's "Perfection Salad" (another fine book!) and is well-researched and informative.

Here, you'll read about food cooking trends as well as all the period heavy-hitters of the culinary world: James Beard, Julia Child, Poppy Cannon, MFK Fisher, and more. There's also a great little biography of Betty Crocker, a woman who actually never existed!

There's little need for me to say more except that the book reads like a good novel and I found it fascinating. It's clearly a must-read for anyone who considers himself or herself a "chef," either professional or enthusiastic amateur.
13 people found this helpful
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Shannon Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Just kept on reading........
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2008
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This book isn't just about cooking and food - it's as much about living (and mighty interesting living at that). I'm not a cook and just don't understand why some people become consumed with the various ways of food preparation. Don't get me wrong, I want my food to taste good, anyway.......I have had a fascination with another food writer, M.F.K. Fisher, because of her travel adventures not her cooking,and while googling Fisher came upon a reference to Shapiro who talks about her in this book so bought it from Amazon and couldn't put it down from the first paragraph. I know I didn't review this book but just had to put my 2 cents in. Shapiro really has a way with words!
13 people found this helpful
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Trekker
4.0 out of 5 stars Culture and Food History mid 20th Century US
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2019
Verified Purchase
I used this as part of the reading material for a Capstone Senior h.s. course on "The Role of Food in History". For the part of the course relevant to the syllabus, this was very useful. Students learned the background of some things they'd simply taken for granted before regarding why they eat what they eat in the US and in what form and how it has changed - or hasn't so much - in households since the 1950s..
5 people found this helpful
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Janis P. Delricci
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any die hard foody !
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
Such a fun, informative read on the culinary landscape of the American housewife's kitchen in the 50s and 60s.... I so enjoyed the insight on the food trends, the food industry's burgeoning new convenience foods output, the housewives' attitudes on cooking and the moral responsibility they felt to feed their family. The trends in society that affected the American culinary experience. I can't wait to read this book again and again !
3 people found this helpful
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Brooke Foote
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on food history
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very interesting and well written.
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Frances S. Heales
5.0 out of 5 stars What your Mother never knew about food and cooking
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book describes the way food manufacturers promoted their product "improvements" to attract women who cooked at home, but had neither the time nor the knowledge to use basic raw materials. It is very funny in a rather odd way, and I felt rather resentful at the way the industry manipulated their customers.
5 people found this helpful
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Kristen A. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed reading this book
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed reading this book. It looked at the changes in cooking from the 1950s and discussed some common misconceptions about ready made and frozen entrees. It also talked about some of the notable chefs and cooking magazines of the time.
3 people found this helpful
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Jessica Nall
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book.
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2018
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I learned some things I didn't know, was reintroduced to concepts I thought I knew, and was entertained. Good book.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Sean Moore
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating summer read
Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
Dispelled a lot of myths about what happened during the postwar period.
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James
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book is quite superb as a work of (admittedly specialised) popular cultural history. The author has evidently done her research and the work maintains a coherent narrative without disintegrating into a collection of anecdotes. Her style is approachable, if at times slightly wordy, and the book is quite readable. Recommended for anyone with an interest in food culture, the history of the 1950s, Americana, even to some extent gender.
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madmanc
5.0 out of 5 stars Arrived on time. As described - brand new. ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2016
Verified Purchase
Arrived on time. As described - brand new. A really interesting look at how food has the capacity to shape a nation.
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Heather Harvey
3.0 out of 5 stars A speciality book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book has been very well-researched and is well-written if at times rather verbose. But it kept my interest in the topic of Americana in the '50s and particularly eating and cooking patterns so it was well worth purchasing.
One person found this helpful
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