FREE

What happens when crops fail, fields erode, temperatures drop, or when the center of power shifts and cultures descend into dark ages of poverty, famine and war? Find out at the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE) on Friday, September 17th, 2010 during an exclusive, free book signing event of “EMPIRES OF FOOD: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations” with co-author Andrew Rimas. From 6:30PM to 8:00PM the BCAE will host an intimate discussion with Rimas as he speaks about his second, recently released book. Afterwards guests will mix, mingle and have a chance to get their purchased book signed by the co-author as they enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres, prepared by Executive Chef Matthew Molloy of Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro and wine from Gordon’s Fine Wine & Liquors.



“EMPIRES OF FOOD” is a sweeping global history of food and its trade. Using the colorful diaries of a sixteenth-century merchant as a narrative guide, “EMPIRES OF FOOD: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations (Free Press; June 15, 2010; $27.00),” written by agricultural expert Evan D.G. Fraser and journalist Andrew Rimas, vividly chronicles the fate of people and societies for the past 12,000 years through the foods they grew, hunted, traded, and ate—and gives fascinating, and devastating, insights into what to expect in years to come.



Fraser and Rimas argue that neither local food movements nor free market economies will stave off the next food crash, and they propose their own solutions. A fascinating, fresh history told through the prism of the dining table, “EMPIRES OF FOOD” offers a grand scope and a provocative analysis of the world today, indispensible in this time of global warming and food crises.



Join the Boston Center for Adult Education and Andrew Rimas as he discusses the relationship between climate change and food prices, obesity and starvation, gluttony and food shortages, and sustainability during Boston’s exclusive book signing event.





ABOUT THE BOOK:



EMPIRES OF FOOD

Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations

Evan D. G. Fraser and Andrew Rimas

Free Press Hardcover; $27.00

Publication date: June 15, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-4391-0189-6



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Andrew Rimas is a journalist and the managing editor at the Improper Bostonian magazine; previously he was an associate editor and staff writer at Boston magazine. His work has frequently appeared in those publications and in The Boston Globe Magazine and The Boston Globe.



WHEN: Friday, September 17th, 2010 from 6:30PM – 8:00PM.



COST: Free to the public with RSVP to information@bcae.org, Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.