Food Atlas: Discover All the Delicious Foods of the World by G. Malerba

Malerba, Giulia. Food Atlas: Discover All the Delicious Foods of the World, illustrated by Febe Sillani, translated by Sharon Morin. Firefly Books, 2017.This large and beautiful folio volume provides an agricultural and culinary tour of the world in the form of nearly fifty maps that cover six continents, Oceania, and fifty individual countries. The book ends with a two-page map of the world to illustrate the “food journeys” by which many familiar, staple foods were transplanted around the globe. Luca Mingolia’s maps, overlain with Febe Sillani’s hundreds of colourful illustrations, depict both the characteristic foods and ethnic dishes of each country and region. The coverage is extraordinarily comprehensive, ranging from Sweden’s repugnant-smelling Surströmming to the equally pungent Durians of southeast Asia, and from Egyptian Ful Medames to India’s Gulab Jamun.Although cast in the format of a book for older children, this fascinating volume is one from which older readers, including adults, may take pleasure and expand their culinary horizons.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Merrill DistadHistorian and author Merrill Distad enjoyed a four-decade career building libraries and library collections.