by Jessica B. Harris

From the publisher: Acclaimed cookbook author Jessica B. Harris weaves an utterly engaging history of African American cuisine, taking the reader on a harrowing journey from Africa across the Atlantic to America, and tracking the trials that the people and the food have undergone along the way.

From chitlins and ham hocks to fried chicken and vegan soul, Harris celebrates the delicious and restorative foods of the African American experience and details how each came to form an important part of African American culture, history, and identity. Although the story of African cuisine in America begins with slavery, High on the Hog ultimately chronicles a thrilling history of triumph and survival. The work of a masterful storyteller and an acclaimed scholar, Jessica B. Harris’s High on the Hog fills an important gap in our culinary history.

Jessica Harris is the bestselling author of The Welcome Table, Sky Juice and Flying Fish, Beyond Gumbo, and Iron Pots & Wooden Spoons, among many others. Her work has appeared in Essence, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Cooking Light, and Eating Well. Harris is a professor of English in New York City and scholar-in-residence in the Ray Charles Chair in African-American Culture, at Dillard University in New Orleans.

Bloomsbury USA, 2012