Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0156004771, Paperback)

The Cadillac of canned meat food products finally gets its due with Spam: A Biography. The book traces the meat's story from its distant Hormel ancestry through its history-changing 1937 birth, right up to the present day. Along the way we discover that its ingredients are not nearly so revolting as one might have been lead to think (merely pork shoulder, ham, salt, sugar, and delicious sodium nitrite) and that Spam received its pithy name from actor and friend of the Hormel family, Kenneth Daigneau. But this is no rosy-hued love letter to luncheon meats. Wyman tackles the tough issues of Hormel's labor problems during the 1980s and the visceral hatred many World War II GIs developed for Spam after finding it in meals for days on end. (Wyman also notes alternative wartime Spam uses, including skin conditioner, gun lubricant, and thickly-sliced playing cards.) In an invaluable service, readers are reassured as to the benign nature of the disturbing gelatin that surrounds Spam, and taught how to tell which batch they're eating by deciphering the markings on their cans. The author also tracks the history of Spam advertising and descends into the terrifying maelstrom of obsessive Spam fans. Of course, no book on Spam would be complete without recipes, and Wyman includes some truly chilling examples, including "SPAMtastic Mincemeat Truffles," "Fruit Cocktail-SPAM Buffet Party Loaf," and the absolutely ungodly "Lobster Thermidor aux Crevettes with a Mornay Sauce Garnished with Truffle Pâté, Brandy, and a Fried Egg on Top and Spam." --Ali Davis