My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

In 2003, Alex Prud'homme was able to convince his great-aunt, Julia Child, that the time had come for her to finally write her "France book," an idea first suggested by her husband in 1969. Both Julia and her beloved Paul were prodigious letter writers, and luckily friends and family had the foresight to save their correspondence. Although Julia died in August 2004 (2 days before her 92^nd birthday), the conversations with Alex and that saved correspondence served to allow him to complete this meaty and fascinating book.

Julia McWilliams Child was raised in a "comfortable, WASP-y, upper-middle-class family in sunny and non-intellectual Pasadena, California." Growing up, she wasn't interested in cooking and had not been exposed to anything beyond what she called typical American fare: roasted chicken, steaks, and leg of lamb. Meeting Paul Child and learning from his enthusiasm about wine and food changed everything.

Julia graduated from Smith College, vague about her ambitions. She lived in New York for a bit, returned to Pasadena to nurse her ailing mother, then moved to Washington, D.C. When war broke out, she joined the OSS and was sent to Ceylon. She met Paul there, a man ten years her senior who had traveled extensively, was artistic, and had a thirst for knowledge. They became friends, shared adventures of travel and food, and fell in love. They married in 1946 and shared life in every respect.

Paul stayed with governmental service, taking the job of running the exhibits office for the United States Information Service at the American Embassy in Paris. He and Julia sailed to France, arriving at Le Havre in November of 1948. Thus began Julia's great adventure and the work that would help change how America looked at food.

Julia describes herself as landing in France a "six-foot-two-inch, thirty-six-year-old, rather loud and unserious Californian." As she and Paul drove to Paris, they stopped in Rouen for lunch. Introduced to the esteem with which the French view their food and its preparation, and, more importantly, introduced to her first French meal, Julia was hooked.