To dip into this compendium is to be forcefully and happily reminded that breakfast, the full English or otherwise, should be the best meal of the day . . . the art is handsomely reproduced . . . Between us, Id say that anyone as obsessed with the idea of breakfast as Dalby should be locked up. But he has nevertheless written a marvelously toothsome compendium. * The Literary Review * Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so they say and it will seem even more so after reading The Breakfast Book. Part cultural history, part recipe book, it traces the origins of the meal in Neolithic times and explores different traditions around the world today. * Elle Decoration * Contemporary nutritionists tout breakfast as the days most important meal. Having delved deeply into history and literature, Dalby finds that such an opinion has not always ruled. Dalbys erudite approach will appeal to anyone who takes seriously this oft-neglected repast. * Booklist * In this volume, Dalby, a historian and translator, presents a flurry of literary examples, mostly European, to prove the varieties of breakfast across time from Homer to Cervantes, from Lawrence to Steinbeck . . . The book also presents a wonderful sampling of breakfasting around the world today, such as how they breakfast on churros in Spain or anise-flavored ground cereal in Libya. * Publishers Weekly * Its impossible to read this book without feeling amused, edified and hungry. It has certainly convinced me that breakfast is the best meal of the day. * Paul Levy *
