Promotional Information

An enlightening and entertaining social history of how we have tried (and failed) to battle the bulge over two millennia.

About the Author

Louise Foxcroft has a PhD in the history of medicine from the University of Cambridge. Her book, Hot Flushes, Cold Science was the winner of the Longman-History Today Prize, 2009. She writes for the Guardian and the London Review of Books.

Reviews

A compelling history of mankind's peculiar and often perverse relationship with dieting ... like a grown-up version of Horrible Histories ... her style is pacy and she has a wonderfully light touch
*The Times*

Immensely readable and very enjoyable, brilliantly researched and filled with fascinating, often hilarious facts
*Arabella Weir*

This witty history of dieting is full of interesting facts ... a great reminder that the basic principles of weight loss never change
*Elle*

Elegantly written and full of tasty morsels
*Mail on Sunday*

Astutely researched ... amusing, alarming and poignant by turns.
*Nature*

Meticulously researched, Calories And Corsets is packed with intriguing details - some jaw-dropping, others laugh-out-loud funny - that make it an easy and enjoyable read.
*Herald*

Anybody with an appetite for such unwholesome [dieting] texts should opt instead for Foxcroft's a slim and sensible history.
*Daily Telegraph*

Put down the diet book and pick up Louise Foxcroft's history of dieting... by the time you're finished you might see the weight-loss industry in a very different light... Foxcroft takes a briskly sceptical line on the global dieting phenomenon.
*Daily Mail*

A book of such relentless good sense that I must recommend it - especially if you're considering a post-festive binge diet
*Prospect*

Entertaining ... Foxcroft's book is full of startling anecdotes, but she also has a serious purpose
*Literary Review*

Amusing [and] illuminating
*Sunday Times*

Foxcroft - whose writing recalls the late father of medical history, Roy Porter - tells what is essentially a grim and visceral tale with wit and sprezzatura.
*The Week*

An authoritative history... There are plenty of good stories and she is good on Lord Byron...
*Spectator*

A catchy title and a great subject...
*Evening Standard*

A welcome addition to the fields of food and body histories... an engaging synthesis of existing research and delves into a number of original sources... There is some substantial scholarship here...
*BBC History Magazine*

Fascinating
*Daily Express*

'fascinating... Foxcroft does this (dispels dieting myths) admirably, and with wit. This short volume would be a wise investment for anyone tempted to sign up to the (screamingly fashionable) high-protein diet of Dr Dukan, or to the (previously hip, now less so) regime of the low-carb king Dr Atkins.
*FT*

At last, a book on dieting that is sensible, and better still, entertaining... a lively history.
*Independent*

Entertaining and colourful
*The Lady*

Mixing science with fashion and celebrity, this enlightening book gives the full skinny on lean, fat and in-between.
*Saga*

Brilliantly researched and highly entertaining.
*Daily Mail*