Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Simone Beck. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780141048413.

This isnt just any cookery book. It is "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", first published in 1961, and its a book that is a statement, not of culinary intent, but of aspiration, a commitment to a certain sort of good life, a certain sort of world-view; a votive object implying taste and appetite and a little je ne sais quoi. Julia Child was like Amelia Earhart, or Eleanor Roosevelt: she was a hero whod gone out there and made a difference. Her books are a triumph, and also a trophy - A.A. Gill, "The Times".