Chicken in the Mango Tree: Food and Life in a Thai-Khmer Village

ABSOLUTELY love and enjoyed reading the authors way of life and the major life change he made! He was my neighbor in Laramie WY so very special. I have other cookbooks by him and his wife and all a joy! He was also on Julia Child's cooking show!

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. In searching for Thai children's books for my son and Thai cookbooks for myself, I came across this absolute gem. Alford manages to incorporate his amazing experiences as a farang (foreigner) assimilating in Thai village culture, his experiences with farm to table food prep (sometimes side of the road or pond to table food prep), his fantastic personal stories, cultural information about the Khmer inhabited area of Thailand, and minor language lessons (both Thai and very little Khmer).This creates an absolutely magical AND practical handbook for life in my home, where we have 2 native Thai-born family members, one Canadian-born Thai-speaking and living farang and myself: the whitest American farang ever to walk the earth! This book has allowed me to connect with my Thai family on a new level of understanding and appreciation for the outstanding and beautiful Thai culture, Thai lifestyle and cooking methods.A fantastic book for anyone interested in Thai cooking, Thailand living or an adventurous traveler.

Those who like to read about ethnic foods, cultures, and food ways will find this book fascinating reading. It is much more a memoir than a cookbook, unlike Alford's previous books (with Naomi Duguid) that were more cook book than food travel journal.