Taco is a smart, compact exploration of one of Mexico’s most beloved (and globally misunderstood) foods. Sánchez Prado dives deep into the cultural, historical, and even political significance of the taco, offering much more than just a foodie perspective.

It’s not a cookbook—it’s a cultural commentary—and while it can be a bit academic at times, it’s incredibly insightful. I walked away with a greater appreciation for the taco’s origins and the importance of food as identity.

A great read for anyone interested in food culture and Latin American studies! 🌮

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first Object Lessons book and for someone who isn't a huge history reader, especially non - fiction, I still found myself captivated by this book. It is such a thoughtfully written book about an absolute favourite food of mine. It really gave me pause to think about tacos and what exactly do I like about them, while also educating me about its history and evolution. This entire book is written as a love letter to tacos and you can really feel that throughout the pages.

I will say, I was really hoping to see some recipes in the book from the author, but that is just a personal preference and should no way be seen as a negative opinion about the book.

I'm looking forward to going and checking out more Object Lessons in the future and am on my way to get a taco.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*This book was received as an advanced Reviewer's copy from NetGalley.

It's hard to find someone who doesn't like tacos. But what is a taco? Is it that thing you get from the 'Bell that is crunchy and full of sour cream? Or is it something else? Is it in a corn tortilla or a flour one?

Prado explores the origin of tacos and the variations in this short history as part of the collection in Object Lessons. In origin, the South American roots (and other international roots) are explored along with the migration from that corn tortilla to a flour one (based on availability of ingredients in a given region).

He also touches on the sociology of the taco and the people who both make them and eat them and how there can be a discrepancy in the appreciation for something and the loss of its roots or the appreciation of the people who make it.

Definitely interesting although I did expect to learn more about the taco itself, not just it's varied creators and the places of origin.

Review by M. Reynard 2025

This was an excellent book. It was well-written. I would highly recommend this book. It's very easy to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Taco dives deep into the history and culture surrounding tacos. This book is extremely well researched and cited however it is very digestible for someone with little to no culinary background. It is an excellent way to learn and understand what tacos mean to Mexico and its people. I loved the personal stories that the author wove into the book. I also appreciate that while a lot of the book focused on fun and interesting facts it also touched on the more serious parts of the discrimination of Mexican Americans. Overall, it was an excellent read.

In the veritable banquet that is America, there is perhaps no more ubiquitous and universally beloved cultural import than the humble taco, from our neighbor across the southern border. If you are not hungry when you start this delightful book, you will be by the time you finish. Chock full of anecdotes from Sánchez Prado's childhood and adult life as a binational of Mexico and the US, this book, through his skillful argumentation, asks us to set aside our obsession with "authenticity" and appreciate each taco for the expression of diffuse cultures that it is, whether consumed in a fine dining establishment or from a street vendor. And yes, Taco Bell gets addressed here, too. A fantastic read, and one that will have broad general appeal. I even plan to use it in my immigration law classes, where we talk about food as culture, and the contributions of immigrants to the American patchwork. Highly recommended. My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for allowing me the privilege of a complimentary advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

A short read on the history of one of the world’s favorite foods. I will say I was expecting a few recipes to pop up in this, but that’s on me the reader for not understanding what the Object Lessons Series was before diving into this. Now I’m hungry and the dinner I have planned won’t satisfy the same way a taco would right now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taco draws heavily from the experience of its author, Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado to detail how a taco is made, where they are made, to the broader concerns of representation and global differences.It is both illuminating and a driver of appetite.

The work is divided into 8 chapters grouped around central themes expanded from the list above. Each chapter ends offers notes and the entire book ends with a list of recommended further reading. Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado shares from his personal experience growing up where tacos where plentiful and varied comparing it quite unfavorably to his first experience of Taco Bell. But he also goes beyond the personal to discuss how and why Taco Bell was founded and continues to this day. One of the surprising bits of information is that in Mexico City the vast majority of inhabitants are less than 400 meters from a taco seller (pg 13).

It is a taco tour that explores the variety of tacos available to the eater and the extended cultural connotations of the cuisine.

Recommended to readers of food history, contemporary eating or culture.

Taco is another instalment in the Object Lessons series, focusing on the taco and its fame as a Mexican food. The book explores elements of the taco such as the definition of what one is and what has caused variations such as soft and hard tortillas, whilst also delving deep into ideas of authenticity and who can make Mexican food.

The Object Lessons series is often delightful, but Taco has definitely been one of my favourites. I felt like I learned a lot not only from the information about tacos, but from Sánchez Prado's personal experiences as someone from Mexico City who has tried a vast range of tacos (and has opinions re: some of the big debates around tacos). As someone from the UK (where tacos weren't even that well-known not that long ago, especially anything other than an Old El Paso kit), I liked how the book touched on a lot of aspects of Mexican cuisine and culture, whilst also highlighting what has happened to the taco once it crossed the border into the USA. The only downside is, I'm now craving tacos.

A nice, quick read diving into the culture and history of tacos. I loved reading this, it gave me more insight and appreciation for the taco.

A really informative ,interesting look at the Taco .Another excellent addition to the series.#NetGalley #bloomsbury

This was a really quick yet completely thorough look at a topic I’d never really given much thought to before. I’m definitely going to be recommending to my non-fiction book club when it comes out.

I had way too much fun reading Taco. This deep dive into the world of tacos is as flavorful as the food itself—mixing history, culture, and culinary insight in a way that left me both hungry and enlightened. I walked away with a new appreciation for the richness of Mexico’s food traditions and a better understanding of how tacos have been reimagined—and sometimes completely butchered—in the United States.

The author doesn’t hold back. From the shell to the seasoning, there’s a mouthwatering breakdown of what makes a taco truly great. It felt like a love letter to tacos—thoughtful, passionate, and packed with truth bombs.

And the chapter on Taco Bell? Pure comedy gold. I was cracking up. As someone who once lived off Taco Supremes in college (and now can’t stand the smell), it was incredibly validating to read an authentic Mexican perspective on those sad little un-tacos.

By the time I finished the book, all I wanted was to pack a bag and go on a Taco Trek across Mexico. If you love food, culture, and a little humor with your history, this book is absolutely worth the read. Highly recommend!

A huge thanks to NetGalley, the author & publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

When I tell you how much I love this series...!

"Taco" turned up on NetGalley ten minutes after, I kid you not, I returned from picking up my hold copies of "Doll" and "Doctor" at the library. Obviously it was an instant request, because while I am ambivalent about tacos (this is my fault, not tacos'; I am ambivalent about many foods that are widely considered delicious), I am not ambivalent about this series. Object Lessons takes readers through short, varied romps on subjects as varied as...well, as tacos and doctors, or tacos and pregnancy tests, or tacos and questionnaires...

Here we get an exploration of the mighty taco. In many ways this is a food tour: Sánchez Prado grew up in Mexico City, where tacos were (are!) a staple, and although he no longer lives there, tacos remain an integral part of the culinary side of his visits.

I am most compelled by Sánchez Prado's discussions of authenticity and what it means for a taco to be "authentic"—and whether that matters at all in the first place. He mostly focuses on tacos he has known and loved but also gets some fairly entertaining digs in at Taco Bell. Here I should perhaps note that I've never set foot in a Taco Bell, let alone eaten there—my family did not eat fast food when I was growing up, and I never developed a taste for most of it—and thus have no informed opinions about it, but I found the history of its founding interesting. I'm not sure I'm convinced by Sánchez Prado's refusal to try Taco Bell even for the sake of the book, but he has a point that taco as an adjective (even for someone who takes a liberal view, as Sánchez Prado does, of what a taco can be) is perhaps a bridge too far.

But a lot of the book is suited best for people who, you know, eat tacos (and eat meat) and, ideally, think it's a great idea to take their own taco tour somewhere. This should absolutely be required reading for any foodies visiting Mexico City in particular, though Sánchez Prado talks quite a bit about taco culture in other cities (LA, St. Louis, etc.) as well. This is also what made me not the best fit for the book, though, and the book in turn not entirely the book for me: as a slightly neurotic, nearly lifelong vegetarian, I don't get all that much stimulation from descriptions of meat-heavy dishes that I'll never eat; I long ago learned to skip over menu descriptions when there's meat involved, and it turns out that that's a hard habit to break...which is not ideal when reading a book with description after description of tortillas filled with some form of meat!

So go investigate the book, and the series, and perhaps some tacos—and take your taco recommendations from Sánchez Prado, not from me.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Taco is a good addition to the Object Lessons series. It is a brilliant idea to explore taco, Mexican culture, its food and impact via a conversationally academic text.

I recently read (and loved!) another book in the Object Lessons series so much that I decided to try another one!

Taco is filled with history, culture, and food. I learned a lot about Mexican food culture, Mexico's history, and the evolution and diversity of tacos. Our author is an academic, not a writer, and I found the reading dry and verbose at times. The book was short, but it still took me a few sessions to finish. There were a lot of circular references within the book ('which I talked about in Chapter X', 'as you'll see in the next chapter') and repetition which could have been cut. There's a noticeable overuse of the word 'modernity'. I was disappointed that we didn't get to spend much time in the author's story or perspective - I was hoping for a personal narrative through-line to complement the non-fic elements.

Ultimately, I'm glad I read this and there's a lot to be learned from the book, but the writing style was a bit too academic to keep it from becoming a new favourite.

3.5/4