A fun book and recommended for anyone who enjoys history or wonders about how everyday things got to be the way they are! This book was super fascinating and a lot of fun. I was, of course, particularly interested in the kitchen section because it involved a lot of food culture. I'm not sure if this is a book for every one, but is absolutely a book for the history buff and the curious-about-life crowd!
An example to illustrate my point: In medieval times, there were 2 meals per day, not 3. The first was in late morning, beginning around 10, and the second was in the early evening, beginning around 4 or 5. This was because people had to actually cook the first meal, and it was eaten as soon as it was fully prepared, so 10am. Many people, particularly the ones writing and written about (i.e. rich) lived in large houses/castles, and were feeding all the people/staff required to make those places function. Large-scale food production wasn't something one quickly whipped together in the morning. While eating these meals, the napkin was thrown over the shoulder because there were no silverware and all food was eaten with the hands, meaning the napkin would need to be out and easily accessible with messy fingers.
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