Description: Warnes traces what he calls America's first food through early transatlantic literature and culture. Building on the work of scholar Eric Hobsbawm, Warnes argues that barbecue is an invented tradition, much like Thanksgiving--one long associated with frontier mythologies of ruggedness and relaxation.
Brief description: ANDREW WARNES is Lecturer in American Literature and Culture at Leeds University. He is the author of Hunger Overcome? (Georgia) and Richard Wright's Native Son.
Review Quotes:
Warnes has written a well-researched book in Savage Barbecue. The historical and contemporary ideas he shares make this a fine contribution to the ever-expanding discussions of food and foodways. We will, from now on, look at barbecue as more than a way of preparing food on a grill.
--Psyche Williams-Forson "author of Building Houses out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power"