Calories and Corsets: A history of dieting over two thousand years - Hardcover

Louise Foxcroft has a PhD in the history of medicine from the University of Cambridge. Her most recent book, Hot Flushes, Cold Science [9781847081711] was the winner of the Longman-History Today Prize, 2009. She writes for the Guardian and the London Review of Books.

Immensely readable and very enjoyable, brilliantly researched and filled with fascinating, often hilarious facts -- Arabella Weir Foxcroft - whose writing recalls the late father of medical history, Roy Porter - tells what is essentially a grim and visceral tale with wit and sprezzatura. -- Michael Bywater * The Week * Entertaining ... Foxcroft's book is full of startling anecdotes, but she also has a serious purpose -- Joan Smith * Literary Review * A book of such relentless good sense that I must recommend it - especially if you're considering a post-festive binge diet -- Natalie Haynes * Prospect * This witty history of dieting is full of interesting facts ... a great reminder that the basic principles of weight loss never change * Elle * Amusing [and] illuminating -- Daisy Goodwin * Sunday Times * Astutely researched ... amusing, alarming and poignant by turns. * Nature * Put down the diet book and pick up Louise Foxcroft's history of dieting... by the time you're finished you might see the weight-loss industry in a very different light... Foxcroft takes a briskly sceptical line on the global dieting phenomenon. -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail * A compelling history of mankind's peculiar and often perverse relationship with dieting... like a grown-up version of Horrible Histories... her style is pacy and she has a wonderfully light touch -- Sarah Vine * Times * Elegantly written and full of tasty morsels -- Jemima Lewis * Mail on Sunday * Anybody with an appetite for such unwholesome [dieting] texts should opt instead for Foxcroft's a slim and sensible history. -- Helen Brown * Daily Telegraph * An authoritative history... There are plenty of good stories and she is good on Lord Byron... -- Cressida Connolly * Spectator * A catchy title and a great subject... -- Katie Law * Evening Standard * Meticulously researched, Calories And Corsets is packed with intriguing details - some jaw-dropping, others laugh-out-loud funny - that make it an easy and enjoyable read. -- Susan Swarbrick * Herald * A welcome addition to the fields of food and body histories... an engaging synthesis of existing research and delves into a number of original sources... There is some substantial scholarship here... -- Peter Atkins * BBC History Magazine * Fascinating * Daily Express * 'fascinating... Foxcroft does this (dispels dieting myths) admirably, and with wit. This short volume would be a wise investment for anyone tempted to sign up to the (screamingly fashionable) high-protein diet of Dr Dukan, or to the (previously hip, now less so) regime of the low-carb king Dr Atkins. -- Isabel Berwick * FT * At last, a book on dieting that is sensible, and better still, entertaining... a lively history. -- Christopher Hirst * Independent * Entertaining and colourful -- Stephanie Cross * The Lady * Mixing science with fashion and celebrity, this enlightening book gives the full skinny on lean, fat and in-between. -- Iain Finlayson * Saga * An excellent book -- Lucy Noakes * History Today * Entertaining -- Joanna Bourke * The Lancet *