Review of DINNER IN ROME: A History of the World in One Meal

Enjoy the meal, enjoy the restaurant and enjoy the history ...

Yet another book that tries to tell the history of the world through a microscope? The history of cod … salt … wheat … the list goes on and on. Often revealing connections and realities buried under centuries of traditional narratives, these unorthodox efforts are a bit like a cheeseburger to a steak – tasty, portable but less enduring. This book is an exception because of its location in a famous restaurant in Rome. The writer uses a smooth conversational writing style and will often (not all the time) draw you into the history of the pasta he’s eating, the wine he’s drinking and the bread and salt on the table. I did find myself quoting the Wendy’s commercial a few times (“where’s the beef?”) but I finished the book in a matter of days clearly enjoying a romp through Viestad’s heavily curated “history of the world”. I am tempted to list the many sparklers that unevenly illuminate this book ranging from the lemon’s role in the rise of the Mafia in Sicily to Martin Luther’s rage against the Catholic Church arising as much about butter versus olive oil as from the notorious indulgences. Dinner in Rome is a marginalia magnet, a seductive fast-food dip into history.

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DINNER IN ROME: A History of the World in One Meal

Andreas Viestad

2022 203 pages

(the Sources in the back make very informative reading)

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