When I was growing up in the 60"s, my father (bless his crazy heart) bought ALL of the George Hearter masterworks (I think there are five). These bizzare creations were my family's font of knowledge for quotations, recipes, and distorted history. George Herter's opinions on everything from women's breasts to Ernest Hemmingway are discussed in these masterworks. If you have a sense of humor and know actual historical fact, you'll love these books! Don't hestitate to buy! A typical "recipe" runs something like this: "Cardinal Richaleau's Mayonaise" for which George gives you the background of France in the the days of Louis XIV, all Louis' mistresses, their breasts, the Cardinal's mistresses, their breasts, some pictures of their breasts, and, finally, a recipe that could very well include something strange such as Hellman's salad dressing or deer testicles. I'm looking to replace our family's tattered heirloom set (gold and silver lame covers on the originals!), with a new edition (hopefully), typeset, rather than typed (as was the original).

This is hilarious, and I am sure it is unintentional. The author (the book lists husband and wife as joint authors, but I am sure it was the Mr. who wrote the cookbook, and the Mrs. who typed it) claims to know the only correct version of numerous recipes, as if he had talked to the creators of the recipes in person. However, the funniest part of all is near the end, in a recipe for homemade soap. The author sneers that modern women are too good to make their own soap, but a hydrogen bomb would take care of that! The text is so dense, and full of information, that reading it is like mining - and you never know when you'll come across another priceless nugget like the soap recipe.

This is simply the funniest, strangest cookbook I've ever owned. The story of St. Anthony's world famous sandwich put my boyfriend into such a state of hilarity that I thought he'd stopped breathing. Of course, it's just one among many bizzare blends of ancient history and rustic American home cookin'. Some recipes, ostensibly from original, ancient sources, use such things as ketchup and luncheon meat. I had no idea the book had been re-published in 1995, so I was shocked to find these reviews! My edition is 1969, Vol. I, gold hardcover, self-published by Herter's store. In back, it lists some other titles by the Herters, such as, "How to Live with a Bitch", "George the Housewife", and "How to Get Out of the Rat Race and Live on $10 a Month". If anybody finds these, I'd love to know how they compare to old "Bull Cook".