Please join us in welcoming author William Alexander to celebrate the release of his book Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World: A History. Touted by reviewers as "one of America's funniest writers" and "engaging, funny, and down-to-earth," William will be a delight for anyone who enjoys culinary and historical travelogues with nary a stale moment.

Beginning as a small, bitter berry in South America the tomato might be considered the Zelig of the vegetable world, present at so many important world events — witness to the overnight vaporization of an ancient and thriving civilization, victim of the excesses of the Renaissance, and revolutionizer of the diet of a new nation — you wonder how it could have been missed. And yet the world's most popular vegetable is often overlooked, if not downright vilified. In the first comprehensive biography of the tomato I bring this remarkable vegetable to life, focusing on ten great events in the life of the tomato. And I guarantee, after reading this book, you will never look at the tomato (or a pizza, or bowl of spaghetti) the same way.