Nearly sixty years ago an unknown writer named Euell Gibbons (1911-1975) presented a book on gathering wild foods to the New York publisher David McKay Co. Together they settled on the title, Stalking the Wild Asparagus. No one expected that this iconic title would become part of the American language, nor did they anticipate the revival of interest in natural food and in environmental preservation in which this book played a major role. Euell Gibbons became an unlikely celebrity and made many television appearances. Stalking the Wild Asparagus has sold the better part of half a million copies since the original publication and has been continuously in print since 1962. Euell Gibbons was one of the few people in this country to devote a considerable part of his life to the adventure of living off the land. He sought out wild plants all over North America and turned ordinary fruits and vegetable into delicious dishes. His book includes recipes for vegetable and casserole dishes, breads, cakes, muffins and twenty different pies. Plus jellies, jams, teas, and wines, and how to sweeten them with wild honey or homemade maple syrup.

This foraging and cooking classic was first published in 1964 and has continued to be one of America’s most appreciated works on the subject of seafood. As a young man, Euell Gibbons kept his family alive during the Dust Bowl era by gathering wild foods. In later years he foraged for seafood all over the coastlines of North America and even Hawaii. He drew on his extensive experience and research to write his “Stalking” series, books which have entered the American lexicon and which remain the starting point for serious foragers. Euell Gibbons tells how to find marvelous food in every coastal area of North America.This book contains numerous drawings for identification and hundreds of recipes and cooking tips from chowders and clambakes to simple epicurean treats such as boiled periwinkles dipped in melted butter.

Chin, who writes the "Wild Edibles" column for the New York Times, goes looking for love, blackberries, and wild garlic in this wildly uneven, yet warmly exhilarating memoir. Trekking through Central Park and other urban beaten paths and backyards, Chin leads us on a journey of discovery as she searches for the tender shoots poking through cement cracks and hardy wild plants resisting winter's bite.--