About the Author

Lizzie Collingham is the author of Imperial Bodies- The Physical Experience of the Raj and Curry- A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, hailed by William Dalrymple as 'scholarly, accessible and above all utterly original'. Having taught History at Warwick University she became a Research Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge. She is now an independent scholar and writer. She has lived in Australia, France and Germany and now lives near Cambridge with her husband and daughter.

Reviews

Remarkable, powerful
*The Times*

Amazing... she makes it impossible to think of the war in the old terms
*Daily Mail*

Fascinating, shocking ... For anyone who thought that the subject of food in the Second World War could be dispatched with a few clichés about digging for victory
*Mail on Sunday*

Ambitious, compelling, fascinating... uncomfortable reading if you began by believing in the possibility of a just war
*Guardian*

This fascinating calorie-centric history of the greatest conflict in world history is wholly convincing
*Andrew Roberts*

A powerful and important book... One of the beauties of this book is its savage unpicking of cherished myths
*Independent*

Lizzie Collingham's book possesses the notable virtue of originality...[She] has gathered many strands to pursue an important theme across a global canvas. She reminds us of the timeless truth that all human and political behaviour is relative
*Max Hastings*

The great merits of [this] book...lie in its extraordinary range...and in the entirely new perspective it throws on the Second World War
*London Review of Books*

Neither a work of revisionism nor an example of a too-focused academic specialty, this is that rarest of works: one that is scholarly, entertaining, and actually provides new insight into World War II. U.K. historian Collingham (Imperial Bodies: The Physical Experience of the Raj) shows how the food policies of Germany, Japan, the British Empire, and the United States were developed from experiences in World War I or during industrialization and how those policies impacted the way these nations fought World War II. From autarky (i.e., self-sufficiency) to over-reliance on global food markets, the combatant countries all had different policies for feeding their populations, both those in the armed forces and those on the home front. The impact of these policies would lead directly and indirectly to the deaths of 20 million people, a number equal to the combat deaths in this war. VERDICT In this era, in which little arable land is likely to open up, Collingham's work is relevant for the future as well for historical study. Highly recommended for all who study World War II history, as well as those specializing in the study of food production and food security. [See Prepub Alert, 9/29/11.]-Brian K. DeLuca, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.