Foods of the World

"Foods of the World" was a popular series of 27 cookbooks published by Time-Life, beginning in 1968 and extending through the early 1970s, that provided a broad survey of many of the world's major cuisines. The individual volumes were written by well-known experts on the various cuisines and included significant contemporary food writers, including Craig Claiborne, Pierre Franey, James Beard, Julia Child, and M.F.K. Fisher, and was overseen by food writer Michael Field who died before the series was complete. The series combined recipes with food-themed travelogues in an attempt to show the cultural context from which each recipe sprang.

Each volume came in two parts -- the main book was a large-format, photograph-heavy hardcover book, while extra recipes were presented in a spiralbound booklet with cover artwork to complement the main book. The individual volumes remain collector's items and are widely available on the secondhand market.

References

* [http://gremolata.com/timelifecookbooks.htm Series overview at gremolata.com]