Joe Berkowitz
Author, Journalist, Cheese Lover
American Cheese
October 06, 2020
This book is a hopefully funny chronicle of the 18 months or so I spent scouring the artisan cheese world to find out everything interesting about it, and how America has recently risen in it. At a time when sources of national proud are scarce, here is an industry and subculture worth rallying behind. Part travelogue, part history lesson, part comic memoir, AMERICAN CHEESE might make you laugh and might make you more enlightened but it will definitely make you hungry for cheese.
Other Books
Collect them all. Like pogs!
Away With Words
An Irreverent Tour Through the World of Pun Competitions
Pun competitions: A real thing that really exists, and is both more popular and interesting than you probably think! This book explores the pun world, and what makes competitive punning so fun, as a group of Brooklyn wordsmiths gears up for the World Series of pun competitions in Austin, Texas.
“Who knew it was possible to enjoy reading about cheese as much as eating it? Remarkably entertaining, deeply insightful, and downright hilarious, American Cheese goes far beyond the plastic yellow slices we all know, and some love, revealing a community as quirky, passionate, and creative as the cheese they put into the world.”
Jim Gaffigan, comedian, actor and NYT bestselling author of Food: A Love Story
“A delicious read… I thought it was impossible that I could be more impressed by cheese, but this book proved me wrong. Between starting and finishing this book, I signed up for a Cheese of the Month subscription. You may say, no way is it that good! Yes, whey. I am more excited by cheese than I have ever been.”
Alexandra Petri, author of Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why
Publications
Who even is this guy?
I've always considered myself a writer, but I didn't publish anything until 2010, at age 30. I got my start freelancing for The Awl (RIP) and publications like Salon, GQ, and The Village Voice, while floundering at an unfulfilling day job. The following year, I started working for Fast Company, covering entertainment and pop culture, and a few years later, I started writing books. So fret not, late-bloomer writers pushing 30. It can still happen.