Praise for the Great American Cereal Book
"Instantly evokes feelings of childhood--watching Saturday-morning cartoons and being bombarded with commercials for sweet cereals with colorful mascots like Toucan Sam and Tony the Tiger." -- New York Times
"From 1863's "hard as a rock" Granula to the sickly sweet Frosty O's (right), The Great American Cereal Book catalogs the stories behind every breakfast. Did you know that Lou Gehrig was the first to grace a Wheaties box? Or that in 1984, Mr. T had his own cereal? It's true; according to the book, one tagline was "I pity the fool who don't eat my cereal!" -- Time Magazine
"While many of us have ditched the cereals of our youths (in all their freeze-dried marshmallowy glory) in favor of flax seed (boring!), the eye-popping colors and kooky designs on the cereal boxes of our childhoods still have a pull, which is why we're loving The Great American Cereal Book. -- Oprah.com
"If you're a cereal lover, you'll enjoy poring through Marty Gitlin and Topher Ellis' The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch (Abrams Image). Full of factoids and countless cereal boxes from days of yore, Gitlin and Ellis trace the history of this most iconic of American breakfast dishes. It's a lot of fun to look at how cereal packaging has changed over the decades, and for anyone a little bit nostalgic, it's the perfect venue for a walk down memory lane." -- epicurious.com
"Bowls of Nostalgia." -- Wall Street Journal
"The book was released in February and has been enthusiastically received by cereal lovers across America. It provides a colorful trip to the past when the likes of King Vitamin, Kaboom and Super Sugar Crisp ruled our breakfast tables. Each page is a kitschy slice of American history as told through our breakfast cereal. It’s no wonder the book has spent seven weeks in the No. 1 spot on Amazon.com’s Americana books category." -- Miami Herald.
"One of the greatest joys I’ve experienced reading the book was recalling cereals from my youth that I had for some reason completely forgotten about or in a lot of cases the cereals that I was too young to enjoy before they were pulled from the shelves ... The Great American Cereal Book will hit store shelves in February and ... I hope you’ll make sure to pick up a copy because it’s an incredibly fun read and stroll through memory lane. Just make sure to have a bowl of cereal at hand, you’ll certainly get hungry while reading it!" -- The Retroist
"Anyone who’s ever spooned into a bowl of milky morning manna will love this cool collection of vintage ads, trivia and history celebrating America’s long love affair with breakfast cereals, the memorable, iconic brand characters that have become part of our pop culture, and the spectrum of lesser-known, shorter-lived grocery-shelf hopefuls that faded into sugary obscurity." -- americanprofile.com
"Showcasing 400 products marketed during the past 150 years, this engaging celebration of cereal is almost sure to bring back memories of long-ago breakfasts. Wittily designed to resemble a cereal box, the book is illustrated with hundreds of colorful images, including full-page pictures of cereal packages, vintage ads, and boxtop premiums." -- LifeTimes: Your Guide to Heath, Wellness and Fitness
"I'm delighted to find this history of U.S. breakfast cereals, organized alphabetically by era starting in the 1860s, illustrated with pictures of each. A encyclopedic nostalgia trip!" -- The Atlantic
"No matter if you prefer Grape Nuts and Wheaties to Franken Berry and Sugar Smacks, you’ll likely find your favorite cereal in these pages. The cereals are broken down by eras, somewhat by generations, but also partly by trends in the cereal market. Within the categories, individual cereals are broken down with data points like manufacturer, dates on the market, varieties based on the cereal, spokescharacters, trivia related to the cereal, and more. While much of the book is encyclopedic in nature, it’s also frosted with interesting cereal history like the making of Cap’n Crunch, the Trix Rabbit Story, a huge listing of fictional cereals from television and the movies, and a whole lot more." -- GeekDad
"Fortified with full-page, full-color photos, it's an enjoyable, comprehensive read about one of the overlooked staples of the national diet." -- Philadelphia City Paper
"From the classic cereals like Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes, to licensed efforts like Mr. T and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this book, which was 15 years in the making, is a fascinating find for those interested in the creation and marketing of this grocery-store staple." -- The Daily Oklahoman
"If you’re even a tiny bit nostalgic, the book’s photos will spark a memory or twenty. I remember spending hours in the cereal row begging Mom to buy Sugar Crisp so I could cut out records on the back of the box and listen to Bobby Sherman." -- Words We Women Write
'"The Great American Cereal Book' is a great read for anyone interested in food or pop culture. Gitlin & Ellis' ability to relate with readers of many genres will definitely help catapult this book on the bookshelves of many. While 'The Great American Cereal Book' will satisfy your cravings on the breakfast cereal industry, it will leave many readers hungry for more information about America's culinary history. Gitlin & Ellis have truly accomplished their goal of "capturing a sense of entertainment and a notion of fun in this book." -- Philly Food for Thought.
"The Great American Cereal Bookis an all-encompassing ode to the food, complete with the history of old-school brands like Granose Flakes, packaging quirks, and the backstory on all those cartoon mascots. It's a culinary combo of art, design, and advertising, and while it might not come with the actual cereal itself (we wish!) you can bet it will make your next trip to the grocery more interesting. So even though Grape Nuts, Wheaties, or Rice Krispies already have a slot in your pantry, with this clever book, they can have a space on your coffee table as well." -- Nylon
Oh yeah ... and check out my interview with former MTV Veejay Adam Curry below!
"From 1863's "hard as a rock" Granula to the sickly sweet Frosty O's (right), The Great American Cereal Book catalogs the stories behind every breakfast. Did you know that Lou Gehrig was the first to grace a Wheaties box? Or that in 1984, Mr. T had his own cereal? It's true; according to the book, one tagline was "I pity the fool who don't eat my cereal!" -- Time Magazine
"While many of us have ditched the cereals of our youths (in all their freeze-dried marshmallowy glory) in favor of flax seed (boring!), the eye-popping colors and kooky designs on the cereal boxes of our childhoods still have a pull, which is why we're loving The Great American Cereal Book. -- Oprah.com
"If you're a cereal lover, you'll enjoy poring through Marty Gitlin and Topher Ellis' The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch (Abrams Image). Full of factoids and countless cereal boxes from days of yore, Gitlin and Ellis trace the history of this most iconic of American breakfast dishes. It's a lot of fun to look at how cereal packaging has changed over the decades, and for anyone a little bit nostalgic, it's the perfect venue for a walk down memory lane." -- epicurious.com
"Bowls of Nostalgia." -- Wall Street Journal
"The book was released in February and has been enthusiastically received by cereal lovers across America. It provides a colorful trip to the past when the likes of King Vitamin, Kaboom and Super Sugar Crisp ruled our breakfast tables. Each page is a kitschy slice of American history as told through our breakfast cereal. It’s no wonder the book has spent seven weeks in the No. 1 spot on Amazon.com’s Americana books category." -- Miami Herald.
"One of the greatest joys I’ve experienced reading the book was recalling cereals from my youth that I had for some reason completely forgotten about or in a lot of cases the cereals that I was too young to enjoy before they were pulled from the shelves ... The Great American Cereal Book will hit store shelves in February and ... I hope you’ll make sure to pick up a copy because it’s an incredibly fun read and stroll through memory lane. Just make sure to have a bowl of cereal at hand, you’ll certainly get hungry while reading it!" -- The Retroist
"Anyone who’s ever spooned into a bowl of milky morning manna will love this cool collection of vintage ads, trivia and history celebrating America’s long love affair with breakfast cereals, the memorable, iconic brand characters that have become part of our pop culture, and the spectrum of lesser-known, shorter-lived grocery-shelf hopefuls that faded into sugary obscurity." -- americanprofile.com
"Showcasing 400 products marketed during the past 150 years, this engaging celebration of cereal is almost sure to bring back memories of long-ago breakfasts. Wittily designed to resemble a cereal box, the book is illustrated with hundreds of colorful images, including full-page pictures of cereal packages, vintage ads, and boxtop premiums." -- LifeTimes: Your Guide to Heath, Wellness and Fitness
"I'm delighted to find this history of U.S. breakfast cereals, organized alphabetically by era starting in the 1860s, illustrated with pictures of each. A encyclopedic nostalgia trip!" -- The Atlantic
"No matter if you prefer Grape Nuts and Wheaties to Franken Berry and Sugar Smacks, you’ll likely find your favorite cereal in these pages. The cereals are broken down by eras, somewhat by generations, but also partly by trends in the cereal market. Within the categories, individual cereals are broken down with data points like manufacturer, dates on the market, varieties based on the cereal, spokescharacters, trivia related to the cereal, and more. While much of the book is encyclopedic in nature, it’s also frosted with interesting cereal history like the making of Cap’n Crunch, the Trix Rabbit Story, a huge listing of fictional cereals from television and the movies, and a whole lot more." -- GeekDad
"Fortified with full-page, full-color photos, it's an enjoyable, comprehensive read about one of the overlooked staples of the national diet." -- Philadelphia City Paper
"From the classic cereals like Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes, to licensed efforts like Mr. T and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this book, which was 15 years in the making, is a fascinating find for those interested in the creation and marketing of this grocery-store staple." -- The Daily Oklahoman
"If you’re even a tiny bit nostalgic, the book’s photos will spark a memory or twenty. I remember spending hours in the cereal row begging Mom to buy Sugar Crisp so I could cut out records on the back of the box and listen to Bobby Sherman." -- Words We Women Write
'"The Great American Cereal Book' is a great read for anyone interested in food or pop culture. Gitlin & Ellis' ability to relate with readers of many genres will definitely help catapult this book on the bookshelves of many. While 'The Great American Cereal Book' will satisfy your cravings on the breakfast cereal industry, it will leave many readers hungry for more information about America's culinary history. Gitlin & Ellis have truly accomplished their goal of "capturing a sense of entertainment and a notion of fun in this book." -- Philly Food for Thought.
"The Great American Cereal Bookis an all-encompassing ode to the food, complete with the history of old-school brands like Granose Flakes, packaging quirks, and the backstory on all those cartoon mascots. It's a culinary combo of art, design, and advertising, and while it might not come with the actual cereal itself (we wish!) you can bet it will make your next trip to the grocery more interesting. So even though Grape Nuts, Wheaties, or Rice Krispies already have a slot in your pantry, with this clever book, they can have a space on your coffee table as well." -- Nylon
Oh yeah ... and check out my interview with former MTV Veejay Adam Curry below!