This is a well-researched and written biography of James Beard, considered a leading authority on food.
Beard was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in a progressive household. His mother was sophisticated and was well known in social circles.
The Man Who Ate Too Much is John Birdsall’s first book as a solo author (he has co-written a cookbook) and weighs in at nearly 450 pages.
Beard is an icon and the author did him justice with this biography, said a review in goodreads.com
“Written with candor, wit and vibrancy, it is as if Beard himself is speaking through Birdsall’s pen, retelling his colorful life and inviting us into his world,” it added.
Ligaya Mishan said in a review for The New York Times: “Birdsall notes Beard’s tendency to crib from his own recipes under the pressure of deadlines and to ignore or improperly credit the contributions of others. But he argues that Beard’s approach was essentially egalitarian, casting American cuisine as a grass-roots ‘collective effort’ of home cooks across the land.”
