Another interesting book in the Object Lessons series. There is a world of meaning in something as ordinary as bread and Shershow uses both his love and knowledge of baking (and eating) it and his philosophical ruminations of its history to give new meaning to a commonplace item. He writes: "What captivates me most is not so much bread as a product, nor even an idea, but as a process and an experience." 2 For example, what does it mean to break bread with someone? The word "companion" derives from the Latin "with bread" (11) .... "the simple act of eating or making bread finally links us to all those who have been or are deprived of it" Then there is bread as a reflection of social classes (white bread being the most elite -- and 14 different types of bread reflecting the social strata of pre-Revolutionary France. There is the concept of the "bread line" -- what has come to denote free handouts after historical periods that sought to provide people with the most basic of needs. He also looks at our current distrust of bread in our gluten-free, Atkins attitudes, (Bread Dread) but how that actually might be more harmful to humans as a species as we eschew basic sustenance. What about daily bread? " ... bread as object and idea so often locates itself 'at the crossroads between the material and the symbolic' so that it always 'forges complex links between the sacred and the profane.'" (124) And finally he explores the idea of bread as a living thing -- complete with the micro-organisms in yeast that give it life. "Perhaps this is why bread, as object or idea, is so often experienced as somehow sacred or magical or miraculous: because we simply cannot help but taste in it, day by day by day the explosive promise of the plural, the exhilarating undecidability of more." (131) Thought-provoking and eye-opening. ( )

Bread by Scott Cutler Shershow is another in the Bloomsbury Academic series. Shershow is a professor of English at UC Davis. His MA and Ph.D. are both from Harvard University,

Bread is a simple thing. It is taken for granted. It is also mentioned in the most known Christian prayer and came down from heaven to feed the fleeing Israelites. The debate between bread and beer linger on as to what actually lead man to settle in cities and cultivate the land. Shershow reminds the reader that early beer and bread did have much in common. Bread not only sustained early civilizations but it also sustains many of us who carry sandwiches to school or work. In fast food, Subway ranks 2nd in the nation between McDonald's and Starbucks. Panera Bread and Jimmy Johns are in the top 25 fast food restaurants.

Shershow tells the reader about the simple magic of making bread and includes a few pieces of wisdom from food guru, Michael Pollan. Bread is a creation. It takes time and effort. Even more so if one uses their own living starter. There are many types of bread and many of them associated with class. The whitest of the white flour was reserved for the rich. The famous quote "Let them eat cake." is mistranslated. The French word was "brioche." Brioche is a white bread fortified with butter and eggs, not really cake at all. Heavy wheat breads were for the poor. These breads were even stretched farther in bad times with additives and even sand.

Bread takes a look at the historical health aspects of bread from the modern gluten-free craze, the paleo diet, and earlier to the chemical leavenings instead of unhealthy yeast. The discussion also includes the religious aspects of bread from the unleavened ,to the last supper, and the miracle of the loaves and fish. Bread has played a central role in the West. In bad times there were bread lines in good there are artisan breads. Even Wal-Mart has jumped on the bandwagon of hot, fresh baked bread in their stores. Bread has rebounded from ever challenge modern society has thrown at it. It outlasted the Atkins diet and will probably be around as long as man walks the earth. A nicely written tribute to an underappreciated food.