Chilies to Chocolate: Food the Americas Gave the World Book

New World Foods Go Viral !
Well, back in the days of the "Columbian Exchange" they did go viral. Now I guess it's old news. But if you're interested in the origins and spread round the world of such edibles as potatoes, tomatoes, chilies, chocolate, corn, quinoa, beans, and vanilla (to name most of them), you've come to the right place. This slim, edited volume, written mostly in a very readable fashion, provides interesting and useful information on such topics. There is also a fascinating chapter on the "unknown foods", cultivated by Native Americans in Central or South America, but ignored by the Spanish colonizers and by outsiders ever since. These include varieties of potato, plus oca, maca, arracacha, yacon, ahipa, ulluco, and a couple of others. You never heard of these roots, right? Neither had I, but now I am the wiser because I've read Foster and Cordell's edited book. The only criticism I have is that the article on chilies contains several historical or linguistic errors which could have been checked. The author of that one is more a gourmet chef and writer than a scientist and it shows. The epilogue, about the damage done to Native American horticultural heritage and how to repair it, if possible, is also a useful addition. I think color photos of the various crops would have been an excellent idea.