I may yet go back and give Chop, Fry, Wath, Learn a 5/5. The writing lacked a certain sparkle, but this book by Michelle T. King otherwise incorporates much of what I love in non-fiction. Fu Pei-Mei’s story as a housewife who rises to fame with the original hit cooking show has lots of backstory on her, her family and how she rose to prominence. More than biography, though, I enjoyed the generous survey of societal changes in Taiwan, the geopolitics of the day, technological changes that transformed cooking and some good Taiwanese and Chinese history. I’ve never considered the history of Taiwan and it’s transformation in the years following the Nationalist army arrival, and have to profess ignorance at the nuance of its people and history. King is an academic and her feminist analysis is very much of its moment, but Natalie and I went to a kitchen store today for some sundries, and I’ll confess that I gave a second look to the high-end wok on display. 4/5