Vegetables (The University of Chicago Press)

From Michael Pollan to locavores, from Whole Foods to farmers' markets nationwide, cooks and foodies today are paying more attention than ever to the history of the food they bring into their kitchens-and especially to vegetables.

Whether it's an heirloom tomato, curled cabbage, or succulent squash, from a farmers' market or a backyard plot, the humble vegetable offers more than just nutrition-it also represents a link with a long tradition of farming and gardening, nurturing and breeding.

In this charming new book, veggies finally get their due. In capsule biographies of eleven different vegetables - artichokes, beans, parsnips, cabbage, cardoons, carrots, chili peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, peas, pumpkins, and tomatoes - Evelyne Bloch-Dano explores the world of vegetables in all its facets, from science and agriculture to history, culture, and, of course, cooking.From the importance of peppers in early international trade to the most recent findings in genetics, from the cultural cachet of cabbage to Proust's devotion to beet-and-carrot soup, to the surprising array of vegetables that preceded the pumpkin as the avatar of All Hallow's Eve, Bloch-Dano takes readers on a dazzling tour of the fascinating stories behind our daily repasts.

Spicing her cornucopia with an eye for anecdote and a ready wit, Bloch-Dano has created a feast that's sure to satisfy gardeners, chefs, and eaters alike.