DEVIL'S PICNIC

It would be well worth it to check out this detailed tour of forbidden fruit by Canadian writer/traveller Taras Grescoe, who travels to 7 countries in one year trying everything that is illegal or taboo to the palette in other countries

He goes to Norway first to try Norwegian moonshine, next to Spain to try Spanish bull testicles and other various gut wrenching foods. Next, he smuggles chewing gum and poppy seed crackers into Singapore, one of the most strict countries in the world with the highest death penalty rate in the world. I have learned you can get fined for walking naked in your own apartment and for not flushing toilets in Singapore. He visits small French villages in search of "Epoisse"s cheese, a raw milk cheese banned for import into the U.S. by the FDA. Then it's back to North America, where he hits San Francisco and New York examining the public smoking bans.

There's also a chapter about Absinthe. He first goes to France to meet a guy who claims that HIS absinthe is the only authentic one in the world only to find out after traveling to Switzerland that Absinthe was first made and perfected by the Swiss. One thing is for sure, the so-called Absinthe that has been available in North America is shit. Not the real thing, completely stripped of it's essential wormwood and other quality herbs.

The subsequent chapter opens with a history of caffeine and what constitutes addiction before ending up in the Basque town of Bayonne. Grescoe briefly samples the town's famous chocolate and points out how the chocolate trade was hijacked by the town elders from the Jews who had made it famous.

In Bolivia, Grescoe checks out the coca leaf, in both its brewed and chewable forms. This allows for a scathing discussion of America's so-called "War on Drugs", highlighting its simultaneous futility and hypocrisy.

The journey ends with the ultimate nightcap, a trip to Switzerland to meet with a firm which offers assisted suicide services to those living in other countries where this is not permitted (aka suicide tourists).

The descriptions of what he's eating are magnificent, sometimes mouthwatering, sometimes pretty disgusting. Grescoe uses food as a pretext to lead readers on a heady quest to corroborate the libertarian principle of free will. Through his well-researched history lessons, readers learn of the birth and evolution of nine different foodstuffs, and the politics behind their prohibition.

The book is very well researched supported by an impressive number of interviews with important players in a variety of countries, from important government figures to people on the street. Every chapter was engaging in this book and it was hard to put down. The facts, history and current status of these substances are cleverly woven together with wonderful writing, colorful interviews and a good sense of humor.

Excellent book, so read it!