The Art of Eating

The Art of Eating
by Joan Reardon, M. F. K. Fisher

List Price: ~~$24.95~~
Our Price: $15.10
You Save: $9.85 (39%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Author: Joan Reardon, M. F. K. Fisher
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-03-05
ISBN: 0764542613
Number of pages: 784
Publisher: Wiley

Book Reviews of The Art of Eating

Book Review: The Art of Living
Summary: 5 Stars

M. F. K. Fisher is quite probably the person who singlehandedly created her field in the English-speaking world: the art of writing about good food, while simultaneously writing about the art of living.

This book, "The Art of Eating," is actually five of her best books issued within one set of covers. My copy is getting dog-eared because I have gone back to it so many times. Fisher writes very well indeed, and her love of life shines through many pages. This is not "just a book about food," any more than "Babette's Feast" is just "a movie about food." The pages overflow with memorable characters -- unforgettable characters!

As for the debate about "Eat To Live" versus "Live To Eat" -- which strikes me as an utterly phony debate built on words not life: Fisher simply observes that we all have to eat. As Brillat-Savarin pointed out, the universe is completely boring without its living creatures, and everything that lives must eat. You may choose to drop some protein powder in a blender with an egg and some milk, gulp that down and call it breakfast: others would carefully poach that egg and happily eat it with toast and cafe au lait. Fisher's main argument would be that intelligent people should know how to turn the inevitable time of eating into a time of pleasure, not choking down barbecue with standard-issue American bread and Dr. Pepper.

And this point of view, to enjoy the pleasures of the world without simply lapsing into hedonism -- to understand the glorious rapture of peas freshly harvested, and instantly cooked, served with fresh farm butter and salt -- informs all the rest of her life, including her two marriages (to Al and to Chexbres). The marriage to Chexbres turned out to be the love of her life, and then suddenly everything went terribly wrong -- at the same time the Nazis were taking over Germany, Chexbres came down with a terminal illness. After living through that hell, Fisher awoke to discover that she was alone.

She dealt with it. She described it, unforgettably. And in these stories of real life, lived on the edge, the volume sold as "The Art of Eating" truly becomes something that could be called "The Art of Living."

This is simply one of the best books I have ever read in my life.

Write your own review

More The Art of Eating reviews:
1 2

Summary of The Art of Eating

RUTH REICHL
"Mary Frances [Fisher] has the extraordinary ability to make the ordinary seem rich and wonderful. Her dignity comes from her absolute insistence on appreciating life as it comes to her."

JULIA CHILD
"How wonderful to have here in my hands the essence of M.F.K. Fisher, whose wit and fulsome opinions on food and those who produce it, comment upon it, and consume it are as apt today as they were several decades ago, when she composed them. Why did she choose food and hunger she was asked, and she replied, 'When I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth, and the love of it . . . and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied.' This is the stuff we need to hear, and to hear again and again."

ALCIE WATERS
"This comprehensive volume should be required reading for every cook. It defines in a sensual and beautiful way the vital relationship between food and culture."

A collection of essays by one of America's best known food writers, that are often more autobiographical or historical than anecdotal musings on food preparation and consumption. The book includes culinary advice to World War II housewives plagued by food shortages, portraits of family members and friends (with all their idiosyncrasies) and notes on her studies at the University of Dijon, in France. Through each story she weaves her love of food and passion for cooking, and illustrates that our three basic needs as human beings--love, food and security--are so intermingled that it is difficult to think of one without the others. The book won the 1989 James Beard Cookbook Award.

Essays Books

Book Subjects

Most talked about in Essays Books

Starting with Ingredients
by Aliza Green
Running Press; Running Press; Published: 2006-09-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.92
Price in other shops: ~~$39.95~~

Al Dente: The Adventures of a Gastronome in Italy
by William Black
Bantam Press; Published: 2003-09-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.55
Price in other shops: ~~$24.95~~

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti: A Memoir of Good Food and Bad Boyfriends
by Giulia Melucci
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2010-05-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.00
Price in other shops: ~~$13.99~~

Food and Culture: A Reader
Routledge; Published: 2007-12-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $136.84
Price in other shops: ~~$155.00~~

The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection (Modern Library Paperbacks)
by Robert Farrar Capon
Modern Library; Published: 2002-07-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.11
Price in other shops: ~~$16.00~~

The Book of Whole Meals: A Seasonal Guide to Assembling Balanced Vegetarian Breakfasts, Lunches and Dinners
by Annemarie Colbin
Ballantine Books; Published: 1985-10-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.24
Price in other shops: ~~$15.00~~

Storied Dishes: What Our Family Recipes Tell Us About Who We Are and Where We've Been
Praeger; Published: 2010-11-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $34.80
Price in other shops: ~~$34.95~~

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
by Aki Kamozawa, H. Alexander Talbot
Clarkson Potter; Published: 2010-12-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.41
Price in other shops: ~~$25.00~~

Tabella cibaria
by Ange Denis Macquin
General Books LLC; Published: 2012-02-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops: ~~$20.00~~

Similar Books and other products

Consider the Oyster
by M. F. K. Fisher
North Point Press; Published: 1988-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.47
Price in other shops: ~~$12.00~~

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
by Ruth Reichl
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-03-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.82
Price in other shops: ~~$16.00~~

Best Food Writing 2010
Da Capo Lifelong Books; Published: 2010-10-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.68
Price in other shops: ~~$15.95~~

The Measure of Her Powers: An M.F.K. Fisher Reader
by M.F.K. Fisher
Counterpoint; Published: 2009-12-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.95
Price in other shops: ~~$21.95~~

French Food at Home
by Laura Calder
William Morrow Cookbooks; Published: 2005-07-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops: ~~$15.99~~

Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table (Random House Reader's Circle)
by Ruth Reichl
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2010-05-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.81
Price in other shops: ~~$16.00~~

Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More (Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Blogs,)
by Dianne Jacob
Da Capo Lifelong Books; Published: 2010-07-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.77
Price in other shops: ~~$15.95~~

The Man Who Ate Everything
by Jeffrey Steingarten
Vintage; Published: 1998-10-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.94
Price in other shops: ~~$16.95~~

How to Cook a Wolf
by M. F. K. Fisher
North Point Press; Published: 1988-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.63
Price in other shops: ~~$16.00~~

An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace
by Tamar Adler
Scribner; Published: 2011-10-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: ~~$25.00~~