I really enjoyed reading this book. I learned a lot about world history, food history and the tomato. The book begins in Mexico the origin of the tomato and ends in Florida, home to the tasteless tomato and the back yard gardens trying to restore it. The book is well written with a lot of information and humor. Enjoy

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book.
I always enjoy reading about food histories and this one was a good read. I enjoyed reading about the different facts and tidbits throughout the book.
It was interesting reading about some of the more interesting things people have come up with using tomatoes and how tomatoes got their start on pizzas and in ketchup, to name a few foods.

Food histories are awesome and who knew the depth of the tomato? But Alexander is taking us there and there is just as much intrigue and myth around specific tomatoes as there are lawsuits, pesticides, diseases, and profits. Using the "ten tomatoes that changed the world" Alexander goes point by point about these specific kinds of tomatoes like the San Marizano to the heirloom to the "mature green" from Florida.

Each unfolds a captivating life about who named what, where it came from, how it was packaged, certifications (similar to champagne from France), and sizes and names, and who was fed what. And all of it was good old fashioned research, travel, and interviewing with an injection of an entertaining voice for the ages. I liked Alexander's quips every now and then that was just the right amount of sass about the tomato and it's people.

Very enjoyable study of the importance of the tomato, it's incorporation into our cuisines and gardens, and partly about the future of how it will be grown and improved. Although the author's attempts at humor fell flat on me, it's a quick and interesting read well researched and presented..

In a similar vein to "A History of the World in Six Glasses", in the first part of "Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World" Alexander lays out how the crop has come to be influenced and influence human culture. Like other object histories before it, "Ten Tomatoes" captures how the history of every day is profound, and that we are affected by past decisions more often than not. The portions dedicated to science were engaging, illuminating the biology of the tomato. There were some minor moments of uneven pacing, but overall this was a captivating read.

While the book gives a good overview of how the tomato went from something thought to be poisonous to being almost everywhere, it was not as engaging as I had hoped. The author definitely likes word play as they keep sprinkling homonyms throughout the chapters. Its fine at first, but gets a bit annoying after a while.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all views are my own.

As a tomato addict, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I currently have 30 tomato plants in my garden, with 18 different varieties. It's going to be quite the year of experimentation!
Alexander offers an in-depth look into everything tomato related. In the first half, the book explores the history and culture of the tomato. The second half dives into the science of tomatoes. The breeding, the growing, and environmental factors.
It's a great companion piece to the author's earlier book, "The $64 Tomato". Together they have pushed my interest (aka: obsession) to new levels.
I will be keeping this book handy for future reviews, especially during the off-season when I can only dream about growing more tomatoes!
Highly recommend to any gardener who loves tomatoes!

The history of the tomato is fascinating. Not only is the origins of tomato usage explained but also tomato entrepreneurs such as Heinz, Monaghan, Campbell's and Chef Boyardee.
Informative and very readable.
Thank you, Net Galley and the publisher Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World.

This book was a lot of fun and a great read. It was really well written, approachable, covering a variety of fascinating historical moments. This type of book is perfect for the family member or friend who loves a quirky historical non-fiction. I'll definitely be adding a copy to my food writing/cookbook collection once its published. Definitely made me super hungry reading this book for many tomatoey dishes.

A wonderful trip across the globe and across time, all in pursuit of the tomato! Join William Alexander on winding Italian roads, on grocery store shelves and even in your medicine cabinet! A wonderful summer read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this clever, witty yet informative book about my favorite vegetable- oops fruit. The tomato has a rich and sometimes debatable history fraught with exaggerations as well as industrial opportunists. Who really invented ketchup? Or Catsup? Who actually brought tomatoes to the United States.? Have human tastes changed so much since the 18th century when a tomato was thought to be the worse tasting vegetable in the garden? Full of facts presented in an easily understandable and pleasurable prose, this book will be one I will purchase to reread sections and add to my shelf of books on the history of medicines, food and commodities. Great work Mr. Alexander, and I loved the joke about the panda!

Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World by William Alexander is quite the book. If you would like to know the history of tomatoes this is the book for you. As I read I started to think, as a grower of at least eighteen different tomatoes grown on my farm each year, why the heck is there such a deep obsession with this simple fruit? It's really just a sweet acidity fruit and we made it into the number one grown food item in our home gardens. It's discussed to high heavens, new breeds come out every year, coveted seeds all of it and if we think it's a lot now just ready William's book and one will be shown kind of why so much to do has been given to it.

We make a lot of different things with tomatoes and it was grand to read the origin of the name. The book does go into a lot of detail and sometimes one can get a little cross-eyed with so much info but it's a fascinating read on the history of the tomato and well researched and is quite an achievement.

Thank you, Net Galley and the publisher Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World.

Excellent social and gastronomical History of everyone's favourite fruit to put on a pizza! Alexander travels through time and geography to regal us with the evolution of the tomato(e) from its discovery by Western explorers to its being a soulless/tasteless slab of orange-red that slides off our fast food burger. Excellent read. Highly recommended for micro-history and food history fans and a great rad for everyone else!

This is a surprisingly interesting book considering that it's entirely about tomatoes. The author approaches the topic from several different angles roughly arranged chronologically through the chapters.

I definitely found the first half of the book more engaging. These chapters included topics about the very early history of tomatoes, pizza, spaghetti, shifting opinions about tomatoes, and more. It's more about history and society. The later parts of the book focus more on things like genetically modified plants, greenhouses, and climate change. It's more about the scientific details.

There were lots of surprising stories and facts throughout the book that are fun to share with others. I feel a lot more informed on this small area of history and really enjoyed the experience of reading this book.

I'd recommend this to people who like cooking, microhistories, scientific nonfiction, or tomatoes. It's pretty accessible and written in an entertaining voice (plus there are photographs!).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC to read and review.

Tomatoes have a surprisingly interesting history, and the author does a good job of bringing it to life. Especially interesting was the chapter about pizza and how tomato sauce became a must-have ingredient.

Sadly, as tomatoes have become more important as a food source, much of their flavor has been lost. But if we were to go back to the more flavorful tomatoes of the past, we’d have to pay a much higher cost.

Occasionally, the author gets a bit too deep into the weeds. However, for the most part, the author uses plain language that anyone can understand. Overall, this was a very enjoyable book that took me on a ride throughout several centuries.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.