The delicious life of one of the most beloved figures in twentieth-century American culture. With a swooping voice, an incredible sense of humor, and a passion for good food, Julia Child ushered in the nation's culinary renaissance.

In Julia Child, award-winning food writer Laura Shapiro tells the story of Child's unlikely career path, from California party girl to coolheaded chief clerk in World War II spy station to bewildered amateur cook and finally to the Cordon Bleu in Paris, the school that inspired her calling. A food lover who was quintessentially American, right down to her little-known recipe for classic tuna fish casserole, Shapiro's Julia Child personifies her own most famous lessons, that learning how to cook means learning how to live.

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AUTHOR
Laura Shapiro is a journalist and historian whose work has appeared in many publications, including Newsweek, The New York Times, and Gourmet. She is the author of Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century and Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950's America.

NARRATOR
Julia Prud'homme has been working as an actress throughout her life. She has acted in stage productions regionally and in New York and L.A., on television in "The Office", "Without A Trace" and "Raines" as well as in many independent films. She also can be seen in a small part in the Nora Ephron film "Julie & Julia" based, in part, on Julia Child's memoir. Julia is especially pleased to narrate this book, as her great-uncle and great-aunt were Paul and Julia Child.

REVIEWS
The New York Times Book Review
"Reading Shapiro reminds us how Julia Child taught us not just how to cook but how to think about food."

The Boston Globe
"An affectionate biography."