This richly illustrated book is the first to apply the discoveries of the new generation of food historians to the pleasures of dining and the culinary accomplishments of diverse civilizations, past and present. Editor Paul Freedman has gathered essays by French, German, Belgian, American, and British historians to present a comprehensive, chronological history of taste from prehistory to the present day. The authors explore the early repertoire of sweet tastes; the distinctive contributions made by classical antiquity and China; the subtle, sophisticated, and varied group of food customs created by the Islamic civilizations of Iberia, the Arabian desert, Persia, and Byzantium; the magnificent cuisine of the Middle Ages, influenced by Rome and adapted from Islamic Spain, Africa, and the Middle East; the decisive break with highly spiced food traditions after the Renaissance and the new focus on primary ingredients and products from the New World; French cuisine's rise to dominance in Europe and America; the evolution of modern restaurant dining, modern agriculture, and technological developments; and today's tastes, which employ few rules and exhibit a glorious eclecticism. The result is the enthralling story not only of what sustains us but also of what makes us feel alive.

保羅·弗裏德曼（Paul Freedman），耶魯大學曆史學Chester D. Tripp教授，曆史係前主席。主要研究領域包括中世紀社會史、西班牙史、農民史、奢侈品貿易史、食物曆史等。他的著作《中世紀農民的圖像》（Images of the Medieval Peasant）榮獲2002年美國中世紀研究院哈金斯奬章。幾十年來他一直緻力於在許多國傢尋找和發現精緻美食及其發展曆程。