In "Near a Thousand Tables, " acclaimed food historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto tells the fascinating story of food as cultural as well as culinary history -- a window on the history of mankind.In this "appetizingly provocative" "(Los Angeles Times)" book, he guides readers through the eight great revolutions in the world history of food: the origins of cooking, which set humankind on a course apart from other species; the ritualization of eating, which brought magic and meaning into people's relationship with what they ate; the inception of herding and the invention of agriculture, perhaps the two greatest revolutions of all; the rise of inequality, which led to the development of haute cuisine; the long-range trade in food which, practically alone, broke down cultural barriers; the ecological exchanges, which revolutionized the global distribution of plants and livestock; and, finally, the industrialization and globalization of mass-produced food.From prehistoric snail "herding" to Roman banquets to Big Macs to genetically modified tomatoes, "Near a Thousand Tables" is a full-course meal of extraordinary narrative, brilliant insight, and fascinating explorations that will satisfy the hungriest of readers.

[英]菲利普•費爾南多-阿梅斯托（Felipe Fernández-Armesto）

知名曆史學者，同時也是傢喻戶曉的BBC（英國廣播公司）節目主持人，被《紐約時報》盛贊為比肩吉本、湯因比、布羅代爾的曆史學傢。他的研究範圍涵蓋環境史、思想史、西班牙和拉丁美洲研究、全球史等多個專業領域，曾任教於大西洋兩岸的多所高等學府，包括倫敦瑪麗女王大學、牛津大學、塔夫茨大學、馬德裏康普頓斯大學等，目前是聖母大學曆史係教授。

費爾南多-阿梅斯托著作甚多，包括《改變世界的觀念》《大地上的文明》《大探險傢》《美洲五百年》等，被譯成27種語言，享譽世界各地。他的zui新著作《人類觀念大曆史》將由新思齣版。這些作品為他贏得瞭諸多榮譽，如約翰·卡特·布朗奬章、英國國傢海洋博物館凱爾德奬章、世界曆史學會圖書奬等。因為對食物曆史的齣色研究，他還榮獲西班牙國傢美食大奬。2017年，費爾南多-阿梅斯托獲得西班牙政府授予人文學者的至高榮譽——智者阿方索十世大十字勛章。