The Untold History of Ramen: How Political Crisis in Japan Spawned a Global Food Craze (Volume 49) (California Studies in Food and Culture)

A rich, salty, and steaming bowl of noodle soup, ramen has become an international symbol of the cultural prowess of Japanese cuisine. In this highly original account of geopolitics and industrialization in Japan, George Solt traces the meteoric rise of ramen from humble fuel for the working poor to international icon of Japanese culture.

Ramen’s popularity can be attributed to political and economic change on a global scale. Using declassified U.S. government documents and an array of Japanese sources, Solt reveals how the creation of a black market for American wheat imports during the U.S. occupation of Japan (1945–1952), the reindustrialization of Japan’s labor force during the Cold War, and the elevation of working-class foods in redefining national identity during the past two decades of economic stagnation (1990s–2000s), all contributed to the establishment of ramen as a national dish.

This book is essential reading for scholars, students of Japanese history and food studies, and anyone interested in gaining greater perspective on how international policy can influence everyday foods around the world.

• Slurp! a Social and Culinary History of Ramen: Japan's Favorite Noodle Soup
• Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food
• Empire of Cotton: A Global History
• Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
• Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City
• Island World: A History of Hawai'i and the United States
• The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World)
• Soviet Women in Combat: A History of Violence on the Eastern Front
• The Great War 1914-1918 (Ark Paperbacks)
• The First World War: A Concise Global History (Exploring World History)