In 1957, America was a gastronomic wasteland. One man changed all that.

From his perch at the New York Times, Craig Claiborne led America’s food revolution. He took readers where they had never been before, and brought Julia Child and Jacques Pépin to national acclaim. He introduced us to the foods and tools we take for granted today, from crème fraîche and balsamic vinegar to arugula and the salad spinner. And he turned dinner into an event—dining out, delighting your friends, or simply cooking for your family.

But the passionate gastronome led a conflicted personal life. Forced to mask his sexuality, he was imprisoned in solitude and searched for stable and lasting love. In The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat, acclaimed biographer Thomas McNamee unfolds a new history of American gastronomy and reveals in full a great man who until now has never been truly known.