Review: Food Rules: An Eater's Manual

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There is an insight from The Perks of Being a Wallflower that I will paraphrase to describe what I thought of M. Pollan and M. Kalman's Food Rules: You know that something's very good when you are changed after reading it.



I can't say that it was only after reading this book that my entire outlook on food and health changed. Before this, there was D. Buettner's Blue Zones--an equally eye-opening achievement. As Blue Zones was thorough, Food Rules was concise. And I love (and was changed by) them both. However, Pollan's book came with a lovely lovely bonus--Maira Kalman's breathtaking, happiness-inducing paintings. It was like a yummy icing on a cake (which, according to Pollan's Rule No. 45, should be homemade, and Rule No. 79, should be eaten only on special occasions).



My only qualm was the lack of a bibliography or references page (so that I would know that the studies and the research quoted in the book were actually based on actual data). Yup, there was a smattering of footnotes, but I guess I was hoping that the author's assertions would be backed up by evidence (ah, the journalist/social scientist haha in me). But I will not deprive it of five stars just because of this.



And, then again, maybe the book was meant to be that way: to be as simple and as bite-sized as possible--so that readers would easily digest the book's interesting collection of info/truths/rules. And Pollan's easily understandable/applicable rules worked pleasantly well with Kalman's art: like a slice of chocolate cake and coffee (which, thanks to Rule No. 51, I now know I could enjoy in moderation as long as it comes from a plant and not a factory).







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