Table of Contents

Preface 1. Ways of Eating, Ways of Starving 2. Black Bread, Hard Bread: Food, Class, and Hunger in Italy 3. "The Bread Is Soft": Italian Foodways, American Abundance 4. "Outcast from Life's Feast": Food and Hunger in Ireland 5. The Sounds of Silence: Irish Food in America 6. A Set Table: Jewish Food and Class in Eastern Europe 7. Food Fights: Immigrant Jews and the Lure of America 8. Where There Is Bread, There Is My Country Notes Index

About the Author

Hasia R. Diner is Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History at New York University.

Reviews

Diner’s research—into historical accounts, novels, plays, economic studies, personal narratives and vintage demographic surveys—has produced a book jam-packed with fascinating bits of Italian, Irish and Jewish food lore… Diner’s big-hearted attitude toward immigrants and their struggles…along with the rich anecdotal material, may inspire a pang of regret when you’re finished.
*New York Times Book Review*

In this fascinating survey of the eating habits and influences of Jewish, Italian, and Irish immigrants, Diner…charts with wit and graceful prose the similarities and differences between these three distinct groups as they encountered mainstream American culture… Diner deftly juggles a huge amount of detail and analysis—drawing upon memoirs, cookbooks, newspaper accounts, films and studies of consumer culture—and provides both political and social insights in a highly accessible social history.
*Publishers Weekly*

For those with an appetite for an excellent book on cultural history, I recommend Hungering for America.
*Indiana Jewish Post & Opinion*

In Hungering for America…Hasia R. Diner provides a richly detailed, highly original study of the changing food habits of three groups of immigrants—Italians, Irish, and Jews—who migrated to the United States between 1880 and 1920.
*Italian Tribune*

Diner's research-into historical accounts, novels, plays, economic studies, personal narratives and vintage demographic surveys-has produced a book jam-packed with fascinating bits of Italian, Irish and Jewish food lore... Diner's big-hearted attitude toward immigrants and their struggles...along with the rich anecdotal material, may inspire a pang of regret when you're finished. -- Robert Sietsema * New York Times Book Review *
In this fascinating survey of the eating habits and influences of Jewish, Italian, and Irish immigrants, Diner...charts with wit and graceful prose the similarities and differences between these three distinct groups as they encountered mainstream American culture... Diner deftly juggles a huge amount of detail and analysis-drawing upon memoirs, cookbooks, newspaper accounts, films and studies of consumer culture-and provides both political and social insights in a highly accessible social history. * Publishers Weekly *
For those with an appetite for an excellent book on cultural history, I recommend Hungering for America. -- Jack Fischel * Indiana Jewish Post & Opinion *
In Hungering for America...Hasia R. Diner provides a richly detailed, highly original study of the changing food habits of three groups of immigrants-Italians, Irish, and Jews-who migrated to the United States between 1880 and 1920. * Italian Tribune *