Flandrin, scholar and founder of the international review Food and Foodways , and Montanari, a specialist in foods of the Middle Ages at University of Bologna, bring together a number of gastronomical specialists to explore culinary evolution in cultures as diverse as ancient Mesopotamia, the Byzantine Empire, Renaissance Italy, and modern America. Articles explore the diversification of foods as the world has become more global, from the first excursions into neighboring villages, to the "McDonaldization" of modern culture. Several long held assumptions about our culinary heritage are rearranged, and new paradigms for how and why we eat what we do are introduced. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)