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Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West - One Meal at a Time
Appetite for America is the incredible real-life story of Fred Harvey--told in depth for the first time ever. As a young immigrant, Fred Harvey worked his way up from dishwasher to household He was Ray Kroc before McDonald's, J. Willard Marriott before Marriott Hotels, Howard Schultz before Starbucks. His eating houses and hotels along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad (including historic lodges still in use at the Grand Canyon) were patronized by princes, presidents, and countless ordinary travelers looking for the best cup of coffee in the country. Harvey's staff of carefully screened single young women--the celebrated Harvey Girls--were the country's first female workforce and became genuine Americana, even inspiring an MGM musical starring Judy Garland. With the verve and passion of Fred Harvey himself, Stephen Fried tells the story of how this visionary built his business from a single lunch counter into a family empire whose marketing and innovations we still encounter in myriad ways. Inspiring, instructive, and hugely entertaining, Appetite for America is historical biography that is as richly rewarding as a slice of fresh apple pie--and every bit as satisfying.
- GenresHistory
19 pages, Audio CD
Published January 14, 2020
4 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Fried
22 books86 followersStephen Fried is an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author who teaches at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.
His latest books are RUSH: Revolution, Madness and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (Crown) and Profiles in Mental Health Courage (Dutton) by Patrick Kennedy & Stephen Fried.
He has written six other acclaimed nonfiction books, including the biographies Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West—One Meal at a Time and Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia; and the mental health memoir A Common Struggle, co-authored with Congressman Patrick Kennedy. Fried also wrote the investigative books Bitter Pills: Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs and The New Rabbi, as well as a collection of essays on marriage, Husbandry.
A two-time winner of the National Magazine Award, he has written frequently for Vanity Fair, GQ, The Washington Post Magazine, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, Glamour, and Philadelphia Magazine.
Fried lectures widely on the subjects of his books and magazine articles, and does editorial consulting. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, author Diane Ayres.
FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/Stephen-Frie...
His latest books are RUSH: Revolution, Madness and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (Crown) and Profiles in Mental Health Courage (Dutton) by Patrick Kennedy & Stephen Fried.
He has written six other acclaimed nonfiction books, including the biographies Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West—One Meal at a Time and Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia; and the mental health memoir A Common Struggle, co-authored with Congressman Patrick Kennedy. Fried also wrote the investigative books Bitter Pills: Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs and The New Rabbi, as well as a collection of essays on marriage, Husbandry.
A two-time winner of the National Magazine Award, he has written frequently for Vanity Fair, GQ, The Washington Post Magazine, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, Glamour, and Philadelphia Magazine.
Fried lectures widely on the subjects of his books and magazine articles, and does editorial consulting. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, author Diane Ayres.
FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/Stephen-Frie...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 17, 2023
I loved reading about Fred Harvey and the Harvey Girls. He opened the way for women’s job options, travels and opportunities in America. I was fascinated by his influence on so many aspects of American history. This was fun and enlightening.
Some facts and tidbits from the book:
Walt Disney worked for Fred Harvey when he was a child. When Walt named his company it wasn’t a coincidence that he also used just his first and last name just like Fred Harvey had done. Mickey Mouse was actually invented while Walt was on a Santa Fe train ride.
The government arrested women for being too attractive to soldiers leaving for Europe during WWI
Even though government officials knew that they had been the ones who had hampered the railroads because of interfering with regulations, they did a takeover of all the railroads—group theft—and then destroyed the way railroads ran thereafter.
A little old lady who was one of the first passengers in a commercial plane, boarded and immediately opened a parasol over her head. When asked why she did that she said, “young man I’m shielding myself from the wrath of God for defining the laws of gravity.”
During Einstein’s visit to the Grand Canyon, the Hopi tribe made him an honorary chief, but they weren’t sure what to call him. Someone asked his translator “what’s his job?” and the translator answered that he was known for postulating the theory of relativity. The native answered back. “OK, will call him Great Relative!”
During the great depression, the Harvey houses were known to feed the hungry. It was company policy to never let anyone who couldn’t pay, go hungry.
An good documentary to watch:
The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound
Some facts and tidbits from the book:
Walt Disney worked for Fred Harvey when he was a child. When Walt named his company it wasn’t a coincidence that he also used just his first and last name just like Fred Harvey had done. Mickey Mouse was actually invented while Walt was on a Santa Fe train ride.
The government arrested women for being too attractive to soldiers leaving for Europe during WWI
Even though government officials knew that they had been the ones who had hampered the railroads because of interfering with regulations, they did a takeover of all the railroads—group theft—and then destroyed the way railroads ran thereafter.
A little old lady who was one of the first passengers in a commercial plane, boarded and immediately opened a parasol over her head. When asked why she did that she said, “young man I’m shielding myself from the wrath of God for defining the laws of gravity.”
During Einstein’s visit to the Grand Canyon, the Hopi tribe made him an honorary chief, but they weren’t sure what to call him. Someone asked his translator “what’s his job?” and the translator answered that he was known for postulating the theory of relativity. The native answered back. “OK, will call him Great Relative!”
During the great depression, the Harvey houses were known to feed the hungry. It was company policy to never let anyone who couldn’t pay, go hungry.
An good documentary to watch:
The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound
April 15, 2023
This is a fantastic story of a brilliant concept for doing business starting in the 19th century and through the 1950's in the Southwest. It encompasses the railroad history, business history as well as historical figures throughout the time it was a business. The family of Fred Harvey and the people of the Midwest and Southwest who were impacted were fascinating and such fun to read about. I highly recommend this book. The narrative is so well done and the research is impeccable.
July 1, 2024
While I enjoyed some of the information and history included, this was not a novel. This was a textbook that it seemed the author researched well and wanted to include every piece of information whether it was important or not.
October 3, 2023
A trip out west piqued my interest in the architect Mary Colter so I was looking into books about her life and work when I came across this work about Fred Harvey. I knew about Fred Harvey mainly as relates to Colter with El Tovar and the Hopi House and the Judy Garland movie about the Harvey Girls (the all young single women servers in Harvey eating houses) but this work gave me way more to chew on than I realized.
The book is not about just Fred Harvey, pioneering Englishman who elevated American expectations for dining out, but about the business he and his son built. There is a wealth of extensively researched material in here to satisfy those fascinated by the developments of US railroads, the West, Kansas City in particular, food service, business models etc.
I’m still on the hunt to learn about Colter (she is in here but not the main focus obviously) but this was a fascinating story with many components I will remember for a long time.
The book is not about just Fred Harvey, pioneering Englishman who elevated American expectations for dining out, but about the business he and his son built. There is a wealth of extensively researched material in here to satisfy those fascinated by the developments of US railroads, the West, Kansas City in particular, food service, business models etc.
I’m still on the hunt to learn about Colter (she is in here but not the main focus obviously) but this was a fascinating story with many components I will remember for a long time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews