Eric C. Rath’s “Oishii: The History of Sushi” very much lives up to its title.
Rath teaches a “The History of Sushi” course at the University of Kansas, so reading this book is somewhat of a crash course in the topic — if only you got a university credit for reading it. In his comprehensive overview of one of Japan’s most iconic foods, the writer unravels the historical significance of the dish, plumbing the depths of sushi’s ancient origins, its medieval evolutions, how it defined high-end dining, its modern popularity and its ongoing reinvention by chefs today. He even offers “corrections where needed” to other English-language works on the topic. As chef Ken Hom endorses on its front cover, “Oishii” could well be “the most definitive book” on sushi in English.
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