POTATO By John Reader, a newly published book for all

REFLECTIONS:

The Appeal of the Spud: A book on Food as a necessity for survival in China and in USA: We must have food to keep body and soul together in the mundane world.
Yale University 315 pp. $28. Recommended reading for readers as

"Centric history of the world" and "a delicious and a persuasive dish" as economics of human capital. We must eat as Confucius stated categorically that food is one of the natural desires of homosapiens. The other desire is known for all humans.

The Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century - known in Ireland as "The Great Hunger" is the centerpiece of such book. Many folks came to USA as immigrants from Ireland as I learned at Georgetown University as a graduate student in 1948-1950. Numerous American Jesuits,administrators and graduate students of Irish ancestry are members at Georgetown. I have always cherished their friendship such as Reverend Coolahan,S.J., Rev. Brian A. McGrath,S.J.,Registrar Joe Connors and his assistant John V. Quinn,plus attorney Joe Crumlish as my old classmate in a Graduate Philosophy class that I still remember vividly.

In China,such food is called "Tu dou" i.e. "bean from the soil" in Pin Yin system of romanization for two Chinese characters. I eat "Tu dou" in China and Potato in USA especially the mashed form of potato("daochenghuzhuang" OR "Tudouni" i.e. paste-like shape of the bean from soil. Some folks call such food informally as "tudouni" or literally smashed(posuide)i.e. broken potato for fun.

Francis Shieh aka Xie Shihao tries to recollect the good old days more than six decades ago from 1948 to 2009. Time goes fast like an e-mail. All readers will be centenarians in the years to come in the 21st century.

Friday, June 5, 2009 at 2.08 p.m.