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TV DINNERS UNBOXED: The Hot History of Frozen Meals
Our recent history told through the lens of frozen meals.
TV dinners conjure up memories and elicit opinions ranging from affection to disdain yet few know its story and impact on social, pop, and food history. It goes back 100 years, with billions sold, and has led to a new world of meal solutions. A dinner ready in minutes was groundbreaking, and remains popular given Americans consume over 70 frozen meals annually. The TV dinner origin is hotly contested. Colorful entrepreneurs to tenacious scientists claim credit. The book solves the mystery while examining the era that helped launch the product. Without feminism, the Baby Boom, television, and changing eating habits, TV dinners may have failed. Instead, within two years of launch, Swanson was selling over 25 million dinners annually.
Airline meals, cafeterias, and automats are examined for their interesting connections. Swystun believes the bento box, is the first TV dinner, albeit without television. The book regales with the sad saga of the Swanson family, shares the stories of defunct brands, and follows the exploits of intrepid reporters who subjected themselves to TV dinner experiments. And it exposes a 'shameful secret', most people hate to shop for groceries and cook. So, frozen meals and all their offshoots are here to stay.
Culture writer, Kovie Biakolo, observed, "To many Americans, the TV dinner tastes like nostalgia; to others, it still tastes like the future." With the sharp insight found in Mark Kurlansky’s Salt combined with the invaluable lessons in The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman, TV Dinners Unboxed will astonish and entertain.
TV dinners conjure up memories and elicit opinions ranging from affection to disdain yet few know its story and impact on social, pop, and food history. It goes back 100 years, with billions sold, and has led to a new world of meal solutions. A dinner ready in minutes was groundbreaking, and remains popular given Americans consume over 70 frozen meals annually. The TV dinner origin is hotly contested. Colorful entrepreneurs to tenacious scientists claim credit. The book solves the mystery while examining the era that helped launch the product. Without feminism, the Baby Boom, television, and changing eating habits, TV dinners may have failed. Instead, within two years of launch, Swanson was selling over 25 million dinners annually.
Airline meals, cafeterias, and automats are examined for their interesting connections. Swystun believes the bento box, is the first TV dinner, albeit without television. The book regales with the sad saga of the Swanson family, shares the stories of defunct brands, and follows the exploits of intrepid reporters who subjected themselves to TV dinner experiments. And it exposes a 'shameful secret', most people hate to shop for groceries and cook. So, frozen meals and all their offshoots are here to stay.
Culture writer, Kovie Biakolo, observed, "To many Americans, the TV dinner tastes like nostalgia; to others, it still tastes like the future." With the sharp insight found in Mark Kurlansky’s Salt combined with the invaluable lessons in The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman, TV Dinners Unboxed will astonish and entertain.
203 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2023
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Swystun
26 books13 followersA Madison Avenue veteran, Jeff is a marketer, writer, and ghostwriter. He is an expert writer in nonfiction business and aspiring novelist. Jeff recently published, TV Dinners Unboxed: The Hot History of Frozen Meals, that is entertaining pop and food culture history. Why Marketing Works, topped the advertising and marketing categories on Amazon.
A prolific speaker, he has appeared at scores of conferences while global media outlets feature Jeff for his communications expertise. He is signed with Gotham Ghostwriters. Jeff welcomes writing projects and conversations about writing.
Jeff is quoted in several marketing books, over 100 publications including The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Advertising Age, and Rolling Stone. CNBC, Nightly Business Report, BNN, NBC, CNN, CTV, CBC and the BBC have featured Jeff.
A prolific speaker, he has appeared at scores of conferences while global media outlets feature Jeff for his communications expertise. He is signed with Gotham Ghostwriters. Jeff welcomes writing projects and conversations about writing.
Jeff is quoted in several marketing books, over 100 publications including The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Advertising Age, and Rolling Stone. CNBC, Nightly Business Report, BNN, NBC, CNN, CTV, CBC and the BBC have featured Jeff.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 23, 2024
Interesting and nostalgic
The book is an interesting and entertaining read covering a subject most of us have probably thought little about. I was drawn to it because of the nostalgia of the TV dinner experience and was absolutely satisfied from that point of view. Swystun appears to have researched extensively based on the endnotes. It is, however, not a dry read at all as he employs humor and colorful anecdotes throughout; I learned a number of things, which to me makes it worthwhile. It's just that the book would benefit greatly from the services of an editor and proofreader to tighten it up and clean it up grammatically. I don't know whether it was self-published by choice or necessity but I'm glad it was published. I'd still recommend it, but you'll have to turn off the English teacher in your head 🥴
The book is an interesting and entertaining read covering a subject most of us have probably thought little about. I was drawn to it because of the nostalgia of the TV dinner experience and was absolutely satisfied from that point of view. Swystun appears to have researched extensively based on the endnotes. It is, however, not a dry read at all as he employs humor and colorful anecdotes throughout; I learned a number of things, which to me makes it worthwhile. It's just that the book would benefit greatly from the services of an editor and proofreader to tighten it up and clean it up grammatically. I don't know whether it was self-published by choice or necessity but I'm glad it was published. I'd still recommend it, but you'll have to turn off the English teacher in your head 🥴
Displaying 1 of 1 review