Refrigeration

October 15, 2015
Refrigeration is not something people think about much, even if we spend a lot of time rummaging around in our fridges. They are ubiquitous now, but 100 years ago, only 5,000 homes in the U.S. had refrigerators. This book takes a look at how keeping foods and homes cool evolved over time. Readers will learn about a number of different topics, such as how the ancient Persians made a wine sorbet from grapes and snow; the use of Irish-immigrant labor to cut ice from Thoreau's Walden Pond; and electric refrigerators from 1895 to the present. The final chapter touches on greenhouse gases, climate change, and therapeutic hypothermia. Black-and-white photographs and line drawings dot the readable narrative. Although an entire volume on the history of keeping foods cold may seem esoteric, librarians know that microhistories are in demand for students (think science fair) and general readers who love trivia. Recommended for most public libraries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)