Edward Behr knows food. He is the editor, publisher, and founder of The Art of Eating, a well-respected magazine about all things edible. As a reference book, “50 Foods” is worth owning. It will tell you which apples really are the tastiest and which wine to pair with your Gruyere soufflé.
As an audiobook, however, this suffers from a narrator whose droning tones render tasty writing down to bland pabulum. Sean Runnette’s monotone simply turns into background noise after 20 minutes or so. And good luck to you if you ever want to go over the chapter on opening raw oysters, because you can’t just flip to the section and reread. Still, this is a meaty book, filled with much useful information and interesting food facts. Just listen a little at a time. Or buy the more useful print version. Grade: C+
(Read by Sean Runnette, Tantor Media; 11 CDs, 13.5 hours)
