Beard's name carries so much weight (pun not intended) in the culinary world, but aside for a Top Chef episode that was dedicated to his legacy, I did not know anything about the man's life. This audiobook rectified that.

This was a really interesting, niche type book. This book is really unlike anything else I've ever read.
Thank you for letting me read this.

This was an excellent biography of an American culinary legend. It focused on his career but also on his personal life as a closeted gay celebrity in 20th century America, and the ways in which his sexual identity shaped his life and choices. Beard almost seemed to fall accidentally in celebrity, after not finding success in the arts. But that is too simplistic a story and the author makes clear the way Beard plagiarized (himself and others) and formed and broke partnerships to become a celebrity. At times, though, it almost felt like a meta-biography, as if the author was having a conversation with previous biographies (as all biographies really do), but at times he forgot to let the reader into the first part of the conversation. And the biggest mystery was how Beard became famous in the first place. The author somewhat makes it seem like he wrote some interesting (plagiarized) cookbooks that mostly didn't sell too well and then at some point he became the face of American cooking? Knowing Beard only from the foundation and their annual awards, I feel like I learned a lot about the man and his psyche from the book. I greatly enjoyed it, but I want to go back and read some of those cookbooks and some of the earlier biographies to understand his fame and impact on American cooking a little better. The narration was well done; I'd love to hear more of the reader's work.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Interesting read, I've never even heard of James Beard so i was excited to read this, plan on reading some of his books now too!

James Beard is famous for his work as a chef and even has a oft-coveted award named after him. However, fiercely private, his exploration of food and taste combinations appeared to be all most knew about him. This new biography by John Birdsall looks at the complex world of Beard, including the queer life he kept quiet in a time where out gay men were not treated well. For audiobook listeners who are self-professed foodies, this audiobook is a delight. The material is lengthy, detailed, and well researched.

If you watch Top Chef, read food magazines or websites, or buy cookbooks you've probably heard of the James Beard Award. But just who is this James Beard guy?

In this new biography, writer John Birdsall has assembled a look into the life of James Beard from the time he was a child up through his death. James Beard was born and raised in Oregon where he learned an appreciation of cooking from his mother. He was precocious from a young age and loved eating raw oysters while on trips to the beach. Born in the early 20th century, James came of age in a time when it was not easy to be a gay man. He found his way into working in the cookbook industry and published several books himself that met with varied success. He was publishing books that touted cooking with real/fresh ingredients in a time where America was infatuated with the arrival of convenience foods like frozen foods and boxed mixes. James Beard became a premier name in American cookery though his books were never very successful.

Birdsall discusses a lot of what it meant for Beard to be gay and how he had to hide this aspect of himself from the public eye. In Beard's older years he saw more freedom for gay men through gay rights events like the Stonewall riots.

I highly recommend this book to people interested in food, biographies or about the life of a gay man living in America in the early-mid 1900's.

Narrator is a good choice of audio but this one is a hard title to get in to. There is so much presented as fact that is impossible to prove, and the writing style is so detailed that much of the meat of Beard’s life is lost. Biography is a tricky thing and this one is too conjectured to get lost in.

I love this book! I've been so fascinated by James Beard, and didn't know anything about his early life-- or his private life. Such an important story, and I'm glad to see the intersection of LGBTQ issues and food writing. Perhaps this will encourage similar intersections in other very public (but also forcibly private) fields.

I couldn't finish this book. The details were over the top, the names and dates and locations were hard to follow, and it wasn't entirely interesting despite my deep love of cooking and food history. Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend it to others.

There was much more to James Beard than genial chef and cookbook author. James Birdsall sets up this biography by outlining how Beard’s homosexuality, which he was compelled to keep from his adoring public, shaped his life as he was reshaping American ideas about food. But although the story is fascinating, the audiobook, out Jan. 26 and read by the author, does it no favors. The telling feels not just exhaustive but also exhausting, and I didn’t make it to the end before it was whisked away to the NetGalley archive.

Let me first start with HOLY MOLY! Daniel Henning is an amazing narrator and really drew me into this book in ways I couldn't have imagined! I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about James Beard, the good, the bad, the weird, and the perplexing this story really has it all. I think what I enjoyed most was learning about his background, his family, and the people he chose to surround himself with. Obviously what most of us know about Beard is only surface knowledge, leftover tales from the people who got to meet him, work with him, and be a part of his life if for only a moment; but the legacy he left will continue through many generations to come. The Man Who Ate Too Much is more than just a biography, it's a story that really needed to be told, explored, and celebrated; and I hope we have many more of these stories to come.

5/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A vivid description of James Beard’s life. A deep insight into his background beyond just his cookbooks and fame. Highly recommended and engaging audiobook.

Gave up on this audiobook. I've read much about James Beard and, in spite of the promises of the introduction, I found the first few chapters so banal, I dropped the book. Perhaps I will skip ahead and try again at a later date.