Food is a central aspect of our lives, but history books don't talk about it. Much of what happened in the kitchen was never recorded, and the evidence was eaten up and forgotten. Meanwhile, history has always been inextricably linked with food: clove wars and confectionery conflicts flared up, new continents were opened in the pursuit of spices, empires were born and destroyed due to battles for food. Tom Nealon has studied hundreds of antique cookbooks and filled the gap in our historical knowledge.