Waverley Lewis Root (April 15, 1903 – October 31, 1982) was an American journalist and writer. Root became known as an authority on food with the publication of ''The Food of France'' in 1958, "which has never been out of print." Among many other works, he also authored the classic ''The Food of Italy''.

Early life and education

Root was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and raised in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

. He obtained his degree from

Tufts College Tufts University is a Private university, private research university in Medford, Massachusetts, Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, Massachusetts, Grafton, as well as Talloire ...

in Medford, Mass.

Career

Root was a news correspondent for over 30 years; in 1969 he retired from daily journalism. He was the Paris correspondent for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' and then ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. He was also a columnist for the ''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

''. His books and writings focused on food, and yet mingled culinary details of the regions he wrote about with historic facts, and literary references. After graduating from college, he moved to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, New York City.

Writings

Waverley Root became widely known for his writings on food, including: *''The Food of France'' (1958) *''The Cooking of Italy'' (1968)The Cooking of Italy (International Edition), by Waverley Root, photographed by Fred Lyon, Time-Life International (Nederland), 1969, page 4 (bottom). *''Paris Dining Guide'' (1969) *''The Food of Italy'' (1971) *''Eating in America: A History'' (1976) – with Richard De Rochemont *''Food, an Authoritative and Visual History and Dictionary of the Foods of the World'' (1980) Among his other books are the following: *''The Truth about Wagner'' (1928) *''The Secret History of the War'' (1946) *''Winter Sports in Europe'' (1956) *''The Paris Edition: The Autobiography of Waverley Root, 1927-1934 ''(1987)''

Family

At the time of his death, Root was married to

Colette Root Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known as Colette or Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for ...

. He had a daughter, from his third marriage.

Death

Root died in his sleep at the age of 79. The cause of his death was a pulmonary ailment.

References

American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American food writers 1903 births 1982 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers James Beard Foundation Award winners {{US-journalist-1900s-stub