Waverley Lewis Root (April 15, 1903, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

– October 31, 1982 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was an American journalist and writer. Root authored the classic ''The Food of Italy'' on Italy and its regional cuisines.

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. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

. He obtained his degree from

Tufts College Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in Medford, Mass.

Career

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

correspondent for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' and then ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. 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 had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

''. 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 ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 mononymously as Colette, 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 her ...

. 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