Altamira Press, a division of Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc have cooked up the ultimate book on hot dogs and hot dog stands in America. Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture In America features the fascinating cultural history recounted by Bruce Kraig and documented with the colorful photographs captured by Patty Carroll.
Whether you call them franks, wieners, or red hots, hot dogs are as American as apple pie, but how did these little links become icons of American culture? Man Bites Dog explores the transformation of hot dogs from unassuming street fare to paradigms of regional expression, social mobility, and democracy. Illustrated by Patty Carroll's photography, hot dog scholar Bruce Kraig investigates the history, people, décor, and venues that make up hot dog culture and what it says about our country.
Humble sausages cross ethnic and regional boundaries and have provided the means for plucky entrepreneurs to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Hot dogs, and the ways we enjoy them, are part of the American dream. Man Bites Dog celebrates the power of the hot dog through an historical survey and profiles of notable hot dog purveyors. Loaded with stunning color photos and descriptions of neighborhood venues and flashy push-carts from New York to Los Angeles, the book includes recipes for cooking up hot dog heaven at home. This book is the ultimate source—informative, fun, and tasty—on the role of hot dogs in American culture, covering everything from the New Jersey Ripper to "Haute Dogs" which transform the hot dog into a gourmet option.
The pair have been researching and documenting this social phenomena for over twenty years, by interviewing and documenting the regional styles and traditions of hot dogs, their stands, and owners. Man Bites Dog even includes recipes! The full color photographs take viewers on a juicy ride through the ins and outs of the history of dog culture in America. Depicting the décor of non-franchised fast food locations, these images reflect the individual personalities of each stand owner.
Bruce Kraig, Professor Emeritus at Roosevelt University, is a noted food historian and widely sought-after expert on the lore, allure, and culture of the hot dog. He has previously published Mexican-American Plain Cooking (Nelson-Hall, 1982), The Cuisines of Hidden Mexico: A Culinary Journey to Guerrero and Michoacan (John Wiley and Sons, 1996), Introduction to Favorite Dishes: A Columbian Autograph Souvenir Cookbook (University of Illinois Press, 2000), and Hot Dog: A Global History (Reaktion Press, 2009). He is the Associate Editor of theOxford Encylcopedia of Food and Drink in America, Second Edition (Oxford University Press) Street Food Around the World: An encyclopedia of food and Culture to be published in 2013, (ABC-CLIO), He is the top dog.
Patty Carroll is an Adjunct Professor of photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She specializes in photographing American popular culture and has exhibited internationally, with shows on hot dog stands, Elvis impersonators, American suburban lawns, Faux Movie Posters, and resorts at night. Her other books include: Spirited Visions (University of Illinois Press, 1991) Culture is Everywhere, (Prestel 2002), Living the Life: The World of Elvis Tribute Artists, (Verve Editions, 2005) and her work can be seen in various photography anthologies. She is a doggone good photographer.
