Doubleday, New York, 1997. Hardcover. Very Good. Blessed with charisma and joie de vivre, along with a privileged upbringing, Julia Child (1912–2004) might have been destined for success of some sort. But a career in food wouldn’t have seemed the most likely path; not at first. It was only in her late 30s that the revelatory tastes of France—which has inspired so many other great American chefs—ignited a desire to absorb the country and its secrets into her very bones. Biographer Noël Riley Fitch (1937– )—drawing on personal letters, diaries, and interviews—tells Julia Child’s enchanting story in her 1997 book, Appetite for Life. Though Child’s life did not lack conflict or struggle, it is difficult not to be utterly charmed by someone who found a soulmate and her true calling, doing it all at her own pace, on her own terms. Very Good hardcover, later printing, lightly shelfworn. Black and white photo inserts.
