Last Suppers: If the World Ended Tomorrow, What Would Be Your Last Meal?

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Lebhar-Friedman Books, 1999 Intriguing "coffee table" type book with black and white photo portrait of an array of celebrities with their food choices and often recipes. Oddly enough, the book has several appealing aspects: you can sneer at some of the recipes: eg Vanna White's cottage cheese, Coolwhip and jello salad or Patti Page's Rice casserole with a tablespoon of Accent and canned mushrooms & boullion cubes. On the other hand, there are some fascinating and bizarre options to try: Scotty Moore's "Mystery Train Deluxe": a peanut butter and dill pickle sandwich (this, I know, is quite tasty) with crushed saltine crackers: not as a substitute for bread, as part of the filling you put between two slices of bread! There are also a few fairly tempting choices: the CEO of Cracker Barrel's Ragu Bolognese, complete with ham, beef, pork, cream and chicken livers or John Elway's hamburger soup or Chef Daniel Boulud's roasted vegetable casserole. The last section and source of appeal is the somewhat ghoulish description of how various dead celebrities died and what their last meal was: Jimi Hendrix, for example, apparently had a tuna fish sandwich (although Patti Page's rice casserole or some of John Andretti's grannie's recipes could easily have had a similar effect!). And you know the legend that Elvis's last meal was deepfried peanut butter and marshmellow sandwiches which he ate while riding around the guitar shaped pool on his motorcycle. well, maybe that's just an urban legend, or maybe I made it up, at least that doesn't square with the story this book tells. The other urban legend would be that Coolwhip and jello and cottage cheese would somehow be good for you! I must confess I read every word of this section, and most of the other parts. So, for the gourmand/gourmet/celebrity hound who has everything, this book is in near fine condition, no writing or marks and a stated first edition, first printing, full number line. The jacket is similar save just a bit of crumpling along the top and upper edge: could be bad shopwear!