MY THANKS TO: Dorothy Leese Lamb, my mother, for filling my childhood with opportunity despite the restrictions of wartime and for remembering in detail and sharing with me her home-front experiences. She has been the inspiration for this book, as for most I do.
Heather and Claire Hayes, my daughters, who carried home the groceries, tested when I tired, kept my computer happy, and along with their friends Jonathan Nanberg and Tyson Lewis served as a gracious and positive taste panel. The book would not have been possible without their help and support!
Hilda Lanhardt Hayes, the world’s best mother-in-law, for her continued friendship and for saving her ration books.
Angela Miller, my agent, for her confidence in the book and for finding it the perfect home.
Jean Anderson, for always knowing the answer to my questions, for her many wonderful stories of the early forties, and for writing the Foreword to this book.
Marian Lizzi, my editor, and the staff at St. Martin’s Press for cheerfully and efficiently nurturing the book through production.
Jenene Garey, Philip Hosay, and Christine Nystrom, my dissertation committee at New York University, for their guidance while I was doing the research that led to my Ph.D. dissertation and eventually to this book.
Marion Nestle, chairman of the New York University Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, for her encouragement while I was working on the project and for creating a department in which food history research is possible.
Jan Longone of the Wine and Food Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for generously giving her time and resources when I had questions.
Amy Bentley, assistant professor of Nutrition and Food Studies, for sharing her research on the World War II home front.
Mabel Chan, Gordon M. Pradl, Judith Weissman, and Margret Wolf for their insightful questions as members of my orals committees.
The more than 300 home-front cooks who wrote to me in 1991 when I first started research on this subject.