Based on research in Chinese and Japanese, as well as interviews with comedians, food service professionals, entertainment managers, store-owners, customers, and scholars of food history, Kushner explores the history of ramen and Japan's noodle culture over the last 1,000 years.

Barak Kushner, PhD (2002), teaches Japanese history at the University of Cambridge. The Thought War, his first book, delves into the history of wartime Japanese propaganda. He is finishing a third book on Japanese war crimes in China. For more: (www.barakkushner.net).