Rating: 
Summary: A fun and interesting read
Review: A fun book, but the book should also feature the reciepes so you can make a kitchy meal.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. It seems to appeal to men and women, young and old. Several friends have borrowed it and told me they've never laughed so hard. The bad thing is - THESE ARE REAL RECIPES! The commentary is excellent. Let us all be thankful that the days of "something in aspic" are (hopefully) gone forever.
Rating:
Summary: Hi-Larious!
Review: My husband and I were in tears reading this book to each other in bed. Truly a great book for those who enjoy reading James Lileks articles or really awful food. Mr. Lileks provides many horrendous recipes of yesteryear and the pictures to go along with it. In fact, maybe this would be a good book to get for Halloween! Make some of the inclosed recipes for a Halloween party and scare your guests to death!
Rating: 
Summary: One-trick pony
Review: Do you like "Saturday NIght Live"? Especially the skits where there's one joke, and it's repeated over and over and over and over until even the actors are embarrassed, but it just won't end?Yes? You'll love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Meat, meat, meat.....
Review: Truely a masterpiece for coffee tables across the globe. Every housewife in America needs to know "How to make it better with 7up." James Lileks captures the heart of modernism in suburban America with this excellent piece of literature. With pictures disturbing enough to make rancid milk look like a 4 star meal, and hilarious commentary from the author, this book is a must own.
Rating: 
Summary: Some pretty darn easy targets
Review: You gotta wonder who ever believed some of the monstrosities featured in this book were appetizing. I mean, I understand why the simplicity and undoubted uniqueness of many of these recipes would appeal to housewives of the 1950s and 60s, trying to find some way to liven up their suburban ramblers come dinnertime. But still, Mary Margaret McBride's Link Loaf (p. 70), the Veal Ring Salad (p. 138), and the whole Cooking With Ketchup section (pp. 101-8) are just plain revolting. There are no two ways about it. Still, there's no arguing about taste ... and I guess that applies as much to book reviews as to cooking. This book is entertaining (and disturbing) enough, but seldom did I find it really, really funny. The premise is pretty clear: find a photo of a disgusting piece of food and make self-consciously funny comments about it. Vary that by sometimes excerpting old cookbook or recipe copy, and then make self-consciously funny comments about that, too. Sure is cool to live in the sophisticated and ironic *now* instead of the dull and conformist *then*. It's a very MST3K approach to entertainment -- but as much as I dearly love MST, I'm not convinced the approach works equally well on every possible medium or subject. Many reviews have pointed to the author's web site, where a great deal of funny material resides (I've been there too). For some reason, it seems to work better there.
Rating:
Summary: Omigawd, I ate some of these!
Review: Authors message: DO NOT read this book while drinking tea. I passed most of a mouthful out through my nose while reading page 51 (the book is OK). This brings back old memories of family get-togethers out in the Sacramento Valley......Urp! Lileks is very irreverent in his descriptions, and the sad thing is that the original authors were really trying their best to make these concoctions look enticing. It is also an excellent historical piece showing how our culture has changed over the past 50 years (for better or for worse). Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Lileks looks at a photo, envisions a hilarious world
Review: This book has some nasty photos from ancient cookbooks, but the real star is Lileks' writing. The author has a keen eye for detail and a dry wit that complements it perfectly. His descriptions of the foods are uproariously repulsive. But the section that made me cry chronicles the days of "Aunt Jenny," a shill for Spry brand lard. For each ad she appeared in, Lileks dissects the photo and creates a detailed backstory for the characters. Funny stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific and horrible
Review: Great fun, heinous photos and an entertaining text. Not a book to read while you're snacking, mind......*ewwwww* I hope he writes more.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book, you won't regret it..
Review: Every guest who has picked up this book from our coffee table and flipped through
a few pages has been reduced to tears within seconds, it's that funny!! It seems that
some of the reviewers could not look past Lilek's smirky (quirky!?) sense of humor. Too bad.
Not far beneath the sarcasm is a genuine affection for the era from which these cookbooks
were written. Its that affection, along with Lileks witty commentary, that makes this just
about the funniest book you will ever own..that is until 'Interior Desecrations' is released!!
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