Book summary

This collection of Fisher's first five food-related books chronicle her life in Europe throughout the 1930s and 1940s, covering not only the delights of French cooking but the deprivations and substitutions of the war years. It includes AN ALPHABET FOR GOURMETS, THE GASTRONOMICAL ME, CONSIDER THE OYSTER, HOW TO COOK A WOLF, and SERVE IT FORTH. Fisher, beloved as not only a foodie but as a writer who can evoke a time and a place with a few well-chosen words, also includes recipes, which range from a simple (and incomparably delicious) gingerbread to the wonderfully named "Eggs in Hell" to Escargots d'Or to the perfect Martini.n

Media reviews

"...I would recommend all parents (and godparents) to present their children of both sexes on their 16th birthday with a copy of 'The Art of Eating.' It will not teach them how to cook, but I cannot think of any other reading matter which is more likely to inspire in them the desire to learn."